Behind the Scope
by Lady of Rain
Summary: A retired Interpol official was found dead at his apartment. A week later, Yusaku Kudo got shot in his chest. A few days later, Kaitou Kid received a letter from a mysterious sender—wait, there's no way Yusaku's life could be targeted. The one who should be targeted is Kid! Besides, usually Kid is the one who sends letters, not the one who receives it. What's going on here?
1. Chapter 1

**I just have an urge to write this kind of story so yeah, here it is. I'm not a native in English, so please correct me if I made any mistake. Anyway, please enjoy my story and thank you for your time.**

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Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan and Magic Kaito.

 **Chapter 1**

 **Two Shots and a Letter**

A retired Interpol official was found dead at his apartment's balcony in New York. There was a single shot mark at his forehead, indicating that he was killed by a skillful sniper. NYPD and Interpol worked together to solve this case. The news quickly spread widely all over the world and finally it reached the ears of Shinichi Kudo or rather Conan Edogawa for now.

"How rare, for a retired Interpol official to be targeted like this," Conan murmured as he listened to the news on television while eating dinner with Ran and Kogoro.

"It's kinda scary, don't you think? They haven't found the culprit yet and they said that the culprit could be a professional sniper," Ran commented, then she turned to his father. " _Nee, Otou-san_ , why do you think this person was killed even though he had retired?"

"Dunno for sure. Maybe he made enemies in his past? Some of the criminals must hate him to the core and perhaps that's why they killed him," Kogoro answered nonchalantly.

Conan could not argue about this. He too was curious about the reason behind this murder, but he did not know many things about Interpol. He did not even know the retired man who was killed. He was as clueless as Kogoro and Ran about this case.

 _'_ _Interpol, huh? Come to think of it, I'm sure_ Tou-san _once said that he had a friend in Interpol. Maybe he's already involved in this case,'_ Conan thought as he remembered his father's words in the past. _'Right, speaking of_ Tou-san _, didn't_ Kaa-san _say something about him attending a press conference in Japan? When is it again?'_

Unable to contain his curiosity any longer, that night, Conan secretly sent a message to his mother, asking her about his father's press conference and about the case involving a retired Interpol official. He wondered if Yusaku was involved in the case since it involved Interpol. Not long after that, a reply from Yukiko arrived. She told him that the press conference would be held in a week in Tokyo and she too would come to Japan with Yusaku. She told him that Yusaku was indeed involved in the case or rather, he involved himself voluntarily to help his friend in Interpol. She told him that actually the victim of the case was Yusaku's acquaintance.

 _'_ _As expected,'_ Conan thought after reading his mother's reply. Of course his father would voluntarily involved himself in any cases that related to his friend, to his family. That was just like him, but to have his own acquaintance as the victim, Conan was sure that his father must felt desperate right now.

A week later, Yusaku Kudo went back to Japan with his wife to attend a press conference about his role in a certain movie as a screenwriter. After the press conference had finished, suddenly Yusaku was shot outside the hall as he and Yukiko made their way to their car with the chief organizer of press conference escorting them, making the novelist unconscious almost instantly. The shot pierced his left chest and he was bleeding too much that his blood soaked his shirt in a short time. Chaos soon happened outside the hall. Yukiko cried while doing her best to stop her husband's bleeding. The chief organizer called ambulance and police. Everyone was in panic and shock, including Conan who watched the news with Agasa and Ai.

Conan could not move his body. He just stared at the television. He was too shocked to do or say anything. Just a few minutes ago, he watched the press conference with Agasa and Ai. The conference was so peaceful. It was fine until the end, but now suddenly the news channel broadcasted an ambulance, police cars, his unconscious father who was soaked in blood, and his mother who was crying hard.

"Shi-Shinichi..." Agasa stammered. He too was shocked to see his neighbour in such a state only after a few minutes.

"They said that they would go to Haido Central Hospital. Let's go, Kudo- _kun_ , Professor," Ai said. She too was shocked, but not as much as Conan and Agasa. Perhaps it was because she did not know Yusaku that well. Perhaps it was because she did not quite understand the bond between parents and children; she had lost her parents when she was still very young that she barely remembered anything about them. Or perhaps it was because she had encountered a similar scenery before: when she saw her sister's body, soaked in blood, in the front page of a newspaper.

Professor nodded at Ai, agreed at her statement to go to Haido Central Hospital as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Conan still did not move. He just stared at the television in horror. Ai sighed as she looked at him. The shrunken scientist patted his shoulder softly and then grabbed his hand, pulling him away from the television to the front door.

"Come on, we've got to see your parents," she said. As much as she wanted to be sarcastic toward the detective, now was not the right time for it. Conan might lose his father anytime by now and she did not want to make him even more angry by her sarcastic remarks. Besides, Ai was sure that the boy must felt depressed right now and she really understand such feelings.

Conan snapped out to reality after hearing Ai's words. He nodded slowly and put on his shoes while the professor started the car's engine. Soon after that, Agasa, Conan, and Ai were on their way to Haido Central Hospital to visit Yusaku and Yukiko.

Yusaku was already in the surgery room when Conan, Agasa, and Ai finally arrived at the hospital. There were no reporters allowed inside. They were all waiting outside the hospital. Yukiko was sitting on a bench near the surgery room with a nurse. She was sobbing while the nurse tried her best to calm her.

"Yukiko..." Agasa softly called her. The former actress turned her head to face him and when she saw Conan and Ai too, she began to cry harder. Conan hurried to her side. He held his mother's hand to comfort her while Ai and Agasa talked to the nurse. Not long after that, the nurse left them alone to give the family some privacy. At this point Yukiko started to crumble. She hugged her son tightly as she spoke haltingly about how much she worried about Yusaku.

"Shh... _Kaa-san_ , everything will be fine. _Tou-san_ is strong. He will be fine. We will be fine," Conan murmured to his mother as he hugged her back. In his heart, Conan too was worried. He was afraid of losing his father, but he knew that for now he had to be strong. His mother needed him to be strong.

After the surgery, the doctors concluded that Yusaku's condition was finally stable. He was seriously injured, but his injury should not threaten his life by this time. The rest was just waiting for him to regain his consciousness. After that, if nothing wrong happened, it would be very certain that Yusaku would be fine. All of these good news would not have happened if Yukiko did not act quickly to prevent blood loss, if the ambulance was late, or if Yusaku was too late to get a surgery. Yusaku was lucky that people around him had managed to act swiftly to get him immediate aids as soon as possible.

The incident that almost killed Yusaku Kudo became a big news in a matter of seconds. Medias talked about it. Police immediately began their investigation. Fans discussed it in social media. The famous brilliant novelist, Yusaku Kudo, got shot and nearly died in a press conference! Just who was this jerk who dared to kill him?

A few days later, Kid's heist occurred in Tokyo, but with Conan being busy worried over his father who got shot almost at his heart, the heist was so boring without the Kid Killer. Not that Kaito, the Kid, would blame him though. He knew that Yusaku was Conan's/Shinichi's father and he knew that the shrunken detective should be worried to death thinking about Yusaku right now. Kaito knew very well the pain of losing a father. He had lost his own father after all and he did not wish for Shinichi to lose his father too.

In short, the heist was a success despite being a boring one without Kid Killer and just as usual, the jewel he stole was not Pandora, so the thief planned to give it back. Just after he pocketed the jewel, suddenly an arrow with a letter attached to it landed on the rooftop, right beside him. Kid was surprised at the sudden arrival of the mysterious arrow and letter. He looked around to see the sender, but he found nothing. Curious, he grabbed the arrow and wanted to disengage the letter, but the sound of footsteps to the rooftop alarmed him. Quickly he jumped off the roof while holding the arrow with a letter in his hand and soon he flew away from the police officers and Inspector Nakamori who had arrived at the rooftop.

When he finally had reached home and had taken off his Kid costume, Kaito read the letter which had been attached to the arrow before. It was a printed letter and the sender was offering a job for Kid with a very interesting payment. The sender offered two gemstones that he/she possessed plus a lot of money if he could release someone from a prison in United States. This someone was called Black Fox in the letter and if Kid accepted this job, he was told to meet the sender in an old abandoned building in Haido city in two days but if he declined, he was told to forget about it.

Of course Kaito already knew his answer. He must decline. Why would he release someone from a prison? Kaitou Kid might be a criminal, a thief, but he would never agree to commit such a crime like releasing a prisoner. But he had to admit that the letter made him curious. Who was this Black Fox guy?

So right after he had finished reading the letter, Kaito turned on his laptop, searching for any information about Black Fox on the internet. He found nothing. The next day Kaito asked his mother about it and how glad he was when he found out that his mother knew Black Fox! The former Phantom Lady told him that Black Fox was a criminal charged in crime for smuggling illegal drugs and selling fake antiques around the world for many years. He was a smart yet cunning and sly man. He was able to commit his crime for many years and operating his illegal business with his gang. Six years ago he got arrested by Interpol in his hiding place somewhere in USA. Chikage said that even though Black Fox had been arrested, many of his followers were still scattered around the world.

"Hoo... so Black Fox is a smuggler, but he's already in prison," Kaito responded after he heard his mother's explanation. In his mind, he was wondering. Why did this mysterious sender want Kid to release Black Fox? Because the sender actually was his follower? And how come he/she had two gemstones in his/her possession? Was it because he/she too was a smuggler, trading illegal drugs and selling fake antiques? If that was the case, then the illegal business of this Black Fox and his followers was still ongoing until now. Their case cleary had not finished.

 _"_ _Oh, that's right, Kaito, actually the Interpol officer who had arrested him is an acquaintance of my friend,"_ Chikage added.

"Your friend's acquaintance?"

 _"_ _Yes. I heard he was a high rank member of Interpol. My friend, Yukiko, once told me that her husband managed to deduce Black Fox's hiding place, thus helping Interpol in catching him."_

"Yukiko?" Kaito repeated, slightly frowned. He had heard that name before. In fact, he heard it too recently... in news... "This Yukiko... she can't be Yukiko Kudo, right?"

 _"_ _Yes, she is! She's Yukiko Kudo. So you know her, Kaito!"_

"Well, she's an actress and her husband is a famous novelist," Kaito replied. Somehow he felt uneasy after knowing that his mother's friend actually was Yukiko Kudo, a woman who recently appeared in news after her husband got shot in a press conference. A woman who was the mother of Shinichi Kudo, the Heisei Holmes.

 _"_ _Ahahaha... Of course! I should've known! They both are famous after all."_ Chikage laughed on the other end of the line.

"Yes, but, _Kaa-san_ , her husband..."

 _"_ _I know. He got shot, right? I saw the news,"_ Chikage replied softly.

"Yes." Talking about Yusaku made Kaito aware all of a sudden. The novelist nearly died a few days ago thanks to a sniper who shot him after a press conference. And was not there a retired Interpol official who was killed recently too, before Yusaku's incident?

And that Interpol official was killed by a sniper, just like Yusaku's case.

Kaito froze.

Was not this too much for a coincidence?

" _Kaa-san_ , actually..." Kaito told his mother about the letter he received from a mysterious sender, a letter that offered him a job to release a prisoner named Black Fox. He spoke to his mother about the recent cases involving a retired Interpol official and Yusaku Kudo. He told her that he began to suspect that those cases were linked to Black Fox.

 _"_ _Hmm, maybe you're right,"_ Chikage commented. _"So what are you going to do about it, Kaito?"_

"Of course I will refuse this job, but I will come to this abandoned building that they told me. I want to know more about these people," Kaito answered.

 _"_ _Just be careful. They aren't ordinary people. Don't get caught."_

"Sure. Oh, right, _Kaa-san_?"

 _"_ _Yes?"_

"This Interpol official, do you know him?"

 _"_ _No. I just heard of him once from Yukiko."_

"Oh..." Kaito paused for a moment, then he continued, "what about Black Fox? Do you know his real name?"

"Eric Wu."

"Eric Wu..." Kaito nodded, satisfied that he was able to get Black Fox's real name.

 _"_ _Kaito, from now on you have to be more careful. They indeed asked you to forget about this Black Fox job if you decided to refuse, but I don't think they will just leave you alone,"_ Chikage suddenly said in serious tone, making her son immediately paid full attention to her.

"Yes, maybe they will try to kill me. I know," the teen responded.

 _"_ _Right, and Kaito? Please do your best about these people, okay? I want you to help Yusaku and Yukiko."_

"Huh? Why?" It was not like Kaito did not want to help. Of course he would help. Yusaku was _Tantei-kun_ 's father after all, but why would his mother care too much about this case? Wait, she said that she knew Yukiko Kudo. Of course she would care.

 _"_ _Isn't that obvious? Yukiko and Yusaku are my friends. Your father's friends."_

" _Oyaji_ too? He knows them?"

 _"_ _Yes. Our relationship with Kudos is closer than you think. We both are friends, Yukiko was Toichi's student, and Yusaku is the one who gave Kid his name."_

Kaito's eyes widened. "W-what? _Oyaji_ had a student? Yukiko- _san_? Really? And Kid actually is a name given by Yusaku- _san_?"

 _"_ _Yes! Yukiko learned disguise technique from Toichi once to enhance her skill as an actress and the novelist who read 1412 as KID is none other than Yusaku Kudo. You see, your father often joked with me about him, saying that Yusaku was his parent—Kid's parent—since he gave Kid his name."_

"Well, what a unique relationship," Kaito commented flatly. _'Adding_ Tantei-kun _as Kid Killer now, really a unique relationship.'_

 _"_ _Indeed, we have a unique relationship with them. That's why, Kaito, please help them. Yusaku and Yukiko have lost their only child. I don't want them to have another lose."_

"Yeah, don't worry, _Kaa-san_. I'll do my best. Yusaku- _san_ is Kid's parent after all." _'And they haven't lost their only child yet. Oh,_ Kaa-san _, if only you know...'_

After he had talked with his mother via video call, Kaito searched for any information about Eric Wu on the internet using his laptop. His mother was right. Eric Wu was a smuggler, arrested by Interpol six years ago, but Yusaku's name did not appear in any of the cases related to Eric Wu and codename Black Fox did not appear too. It seemed only a few people knew that Eric Wu was also known as Black Fox and Yusaku Kudo was involved in his arrest. After that, Kaito turned off his laptop. He read the mysterious letter once again, thinking what he should do about these people who knew about Black Fox. He had decided that he would go to the abandoned building at Haido just to get a closer look at them, but after that, what should he do?

He needed to make sure that the police noticed these Black Fox acquaintances. Maybe he could lure them out in his next heist if they really intended to kill Kid after the thief had decided to refuse their job. Maybe that way the police would notice that someone was after Kid's life. Maybe that way they would relate Yusaku's case with this someone who was after Kid's life. It would be better if Conan knew about it too.

Kaito nodded to himself. He would tell this problem to _Tantei-kun_ after he was sure that this mysterious sender and Black Fox was related to Yusaku's case. After all, the detective deserved to know and an ally in this case would be very welcomed.

TBC

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 **Review please :)**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito.

 **Chapter 2**

 **Wolf and Sniper**

Kaitou Kid patted one of his doves softly as he looked at an abandoned building a few meters in front of him. His doves had just returned from their duty to monitor the situation around the building. It seemed that nothing had occurred there, which meant that Kid could sneak inside the building safely. The thief smirked excitedly, looking at the beautiful landscape of Haido City at night from the top of Haido City Hotel. He cleared his throat, drew a deep breath, and then spread his arms out wide.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" He exclaimed to the city. "Now, let's begin the overture!"

Kid jumped off the hotel and activated his hang glider. He flew away to the abandoned building where the sender of the mysterious letter might be waiting for him. As soon as he landed on the rooftop, he made his way into the building quietly. He was trained in this: sneaking into buildings unnoticed. He went to the third floor, the appointment place which was written in the letter. He smirked as he saw a figure in black stood in front of a glass window silently, his back facing the thief. Yes, it was 'he'. Kid was certain that he saw a man right now, judging by his height and his muscular body. There was no way a woman's body could be like that.

"Are you the sender?" Kid broke the silence.

The man turned himself to face the thief. Kid could not see his face clearly because there was a mask covering the upper half of his face, but the thief could see a small smile on his lips.

"Kaitou Kid," he greeted, inviting the thief to come closer with a gesture of his hand. "What an honor to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine, Sir," Kid replied as he walked toward the man in front of the window. "So, am I right? Are you the sender?"

"You could say that," the man nodded. "If you are here, does this mean that you accept the job?"

"Before that, I have questions."

"Oh, really? Just ask me then."

"These gemstones that you're offering to me, are they real?"

The man chuckled. "Of course they're real. Why would I lie about such a thing to a pro like you?"

"I see... By the way, are you really the owner of those gemstones?"

Yes, I am. Why? You doubt me?"

"Hmm, not exactly." Kid smirked. "It's just that maybe those gemstones belong to Black Fox—or Eric Wu—his real name, since you asked me to release him. Besides, I already know how wealthy he was before he got arrested in prison. It certainly is possible that those gemstones actually belong to him."

The masked man in front of Kid smiled, somehow he seemed not so surprised to know that Kid knew Black Fox's real name. "So you know him. Very clever, but rest assured, none of them is Eric Wu's property."

"If you say so." Kid looked at his interlocutor, trying to find out any expression on his face, but the thief's effort was meaningless because of the mask. "Why do you want me to release him? Who is Black Fox to you?"

"Oops, I can't tell you that. I'm sure you don't need such information to release him, Kid- _san_."

"True," Kid nodded. He felt a little disappointed for not being able to gain more information, but he had predicted this before, so it was not a big deal. "Then what should I call you? If I am to become your partner in crime, shouldn't I at least deserve your name or something like that?"

"You can call me Wolf."

"Wolf? Hmm... interesting. Are you here with your friends? I suppose wolfs always work together."

"Aren't you a quick one, Kid- _san_? Yes, I'm with my friends, it's just that they decided to watch us from another place."

"Watch us from another place? I see... You're very cautious, aren't you?" Kid smirked. It seemed that his doves had missed this part. Maybe Wolf's friends came after his doves had finished patrolling. Behind his poker face, the thief thought fast. There was someone—no, perhaps more than one person—watching him from afar. This could mean a few things in his head: hidden camera and sniper. Now that Kid thought about it again, he was standing right in front of a glass window, facing Wolf who was also standing in front of the same window. A sniper could spot him easily if he stood here. Wolf had planned this from the start.

"Of course. It's you we're talking about, Kaitou Kid- _san_ ," Wolf smirked back. His smirk convinced Kid that Wolf and his friends really would not let him get away easily. Realizing this, the thief chuckled.

"Well, this is predictable yet unpredictable. I guess this opera turns out pretty interesting to play, don't you think so, Wolf- _san_?" He said lightly.

"What do you mean by that?" Wolf looked at Kid warily and although Kid could not see his face, he knew that his interlocutor was becoming more alert based on his low yet sharp voice.

"You see, I decided to decline your job, so, no, I will not release this Black Fox of yours, but I must say that I accept your offer gratefully, Wolf- _san_. Those gemstones indeed are too tempting to refuse."

Wolf looked taken aback for a while, then he snorted. "Hmph, you should understand by now that you won't get those gemstones unless you manage to release him. Don't be ridiculous."

"That's not true," Kid replied coolly. "Should I remind you, Wolf- _san_ , that I am a thief? I don't have to work for you to get those gems. I will just steal them from you."

"W-what?"

"That's all from me," Kid said as he bowed elegantly. "So, I have given you the notice of my heist directly. You'd better prepare yourself, Wolf- _san_. Until next time."

With a thick smoke, Kid vanished from the room, leaving Wolf in confusion and anger as the man shouted impatiently to his walkie-talkie, calling his friends to watch the abandoned building cautiously and to not let the thief get away. But Kid the Phantom Thief always got away and that was what happened this time too. While Wolf and his friends were running around the building and observed the building from afar to detect his presence, the thief sneakily slipped out of their watch. It sure was a challenge to escape from them as he knew that somewhere outside the building, Wolf's friends undoubtedly watched everything carefully and some of them might be snipers who could shoot him anytime if they managed to spot him. Not to mention there was a possibility they had hidden cameras in the building, allowing them to monitor any suspicious movement. But in the end, the thief managed to get away thanks to his dummy, his acrobatic skill, and his disguise skill. He managed to jump into a travel agency building next to the abandoned building and sneaked inside through a ventilation shaft when Wolf and his friends were distracted by his flying Kid dummy. He took off his Kid costume and disguised as a teenager who was looking for information about holiday destination, and finally he came out of the travel agency building with a pair of newly wed who had just bought their honeymoon tickets.

 _'_ _Well, that was quite an overture,'_ Kaito thought as he walked toward his home. He grinned in amusement thinking of Wolf's and his friends' reaction when they finally found out that Kid actually managed to get away from them. Tonight's show was a success to him. He managed to get Wolf's codename, he managed to provoke him by sending a heist notice to him, and he managed to get away from him. For now, Kaito could only hope that Wolf and his friends would take his bait because only in that way he would be able to lure them out. Only in that way he could possibly make the police notice them. Only in that way too he could figure out who exactly was Wolf and once he knew his identity, he would be able to steal the gemstones from him.

 _'_ _Right, I should tell_ Kaa-san _and Jii_ -chan _about this,'_ Kaito thought again. He decided to tell Jii as soon as possible. That old man knew about tonight's show and was waiting for his return, so Kaito changed direction toward a billiard parlor called Blue Parrot where Jii had been waiting for him. As for his mother, Kaito would tell her as soon as he arrived home. After all, the Phantom Lady might know something important about Wolf and if so, Kaito was eager to hear it.

~o0o~

Conan breathed in relief after reading a message from his mother on his cellphone. It seemed that his father was getting better everyday. Yukiko just sent him a message about how Yusaku's respiratory therapy went well. If nothing went wrong, he would be allowed to leave the hospital in a week. It was a good news for every Kudo.

"Conan- _kun_ , how about we go to the park after school? Genta brings a new soccer ball!" Ayumi suddenly chirped, making Conan startled in surprise.

"No, Ayumi- _chan_. I have plan for today," Conan declined politely.

"Really? What kind of plan?" She asked.

"I'm going to visit Yusaku- _san_ ," Conan answered truthfully.

"Can't you do it another time? This is a special soccer ball, you know! The famous limited edition Tokyo Spirits ball!"

"Sorry, I really can't. I'm worried about Yusaku- _san_ since he's my relative and it's been a while since the last time I visited him. I'm sorry, Ayumi- _chan,_ but I really want to see him."

Ayumi looked dejected. "Well, that's too bad, but it's okay! Ayumi can understand." This time the little girl nodded with a reassuring smile. Conan smiled back at her, really thankful for her understanding. When Ayumi was finally away from him, Ai approached him.

"So, you're going to visit your father," she stated in a low voice.

"Yeah," Conan replied.

"How is he doing?"

"He's getting better. _Kaa-san_ said that he might get discharged in a week."

"Good to hear," Ai said. "I'm going to play with the children after school. Give my regards to your parents."

"Sure. Thanks, Haibara."

Ai just smiled, then she walked away to join Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko who were busy talking about Genta's new soccer ball.

As he planned, Conan went to Haido Central Hospital after school. He parted with his friends on the way there. As soon as he arrived at the hospital, the bespectacled boy immediately went straight to his father's room which was guarded by two police officers. He found both of his parents in there, chatting happily as he opened the door.

"Oh, Shin—Conan- _kun_ , come in!" Yukiko greeted him cheerfully. Beside her, Yusaku smiled at him fondly. Conan could not resist smiling back at them. He entered the room, closed the door, and was soon sitting on the edge of his father's bed.

"Haibara sends her regards to both of you," Conan said to his parents.

"Ai- _chan_ does? How sweet of her!" Yukiko commented happily.

"Tell her that we appreciate it, Shinichi," Yusaku added.

Conan nodded. "By the way, how are you feeling, _Tou-san_?"

"Much better." Yusaku smiled. "It's a good thing I don't need ventilator or chest tube anymore."

"Of course it is," Conan said. " _Tou-san_ , about the sniper who shot you..."

"What about that?"

"It's... I don't know. It's just that your case somehow makes Interpol involved, but even with Interpol's help, there is still nothing much to tell." The truth was Conan felt frustrated. He did his best to solve the case that almost killed his father. He was even lucky to have Sleeping Kogoro joined investigation; the private detective did not really care about Yusaku, but he adored Yukiko's beauty, so he decided to help the former actress by solving her husband's case. Kogoro's involvement made a good opportunity for Conan. The boy was able to gain more information from him and Japanese police. He too sometimes was allowed to go with Kogoro and the police for investigation. But even with all of that, the shrunken detective could not really figure out anything. There were too few clues for him to deduce anything.

Conan had thought that perhaps his father knew something important since he was the victim and before that, the novelist was helping Interpol in similar sniper case. Conan was eager to ask Yusaku, but the man seemed too tired after the sniper incident. Yusaku had many medical equipments attached to his body, limiting his movement. He had problem with breathing which led him to have difficulties in speaking. Yusaku was ill and in pain that Conan could not bring himself to ask him. That was why the little detective decided to visit his father now. His mother's message had convinced him that his father was getting better and finally would be able to answer his questions.

"Megure said the same to me too. How troublesome," Yusaku replied.

"Don't you at least have someone in mind, someone who perhaps wants to kill you and that Interpol official?" Conan asked.

"If you ask me about that, there are too many criminals who may want to kill me. I really can't pinpoint who is the one who shot me among all of them."

"Then maybe a criminal who is specifically associated with you and that Interpol official? _Kaa-san_ told me that he was your acquaintance, so maybe this culprit have a grudge against you two."

"I already thought about that, but criminals who are linked to us are simply too many and most of them are still in prison right now. Interpol and NYPD have been investigating those who are already free, but so far, they can't prove anything if those people are responsible for our case."

"If not them, then maybe someone who hasn't been arrested," Conan murmured. " _Tou-san_ , it's possible that the culprit might be someone who hasn't been imprisoned before."

"That's possible, but who? And why?" Yusaku frowned. "Unless this someone has a grudge against me about one of the criminals who were arrested by my deduction, I can't think of anyone else who may want to kill me."

"Do you have someone in mind about that?" Yukiko asked.

"No. There are too many possibilities about criminal's acquaintance who may want to kill me since there are too many criminals who have been imprisoned with my help," Yusaku answered.

"This culprit must be a skilled sniper, at least we know that," Yukiko sighed.

"Yeah. Maybe this person isn't a criminal's family since most of the criminal's families and relatives are just normal civilians, which means the culprit could be an accomplice, friend, partner in crime who hasn't been caught yet, or..." Conan's eyes widened. "Or perhaps an assassin."

"Well, that's an interesting theory, Shinichi," Yusaku smirked after he had heard the last sentence of his son. "Assassin, huh? If that's the case, surely someone paid this assassin to kill me, to kill my friend. If this theory is correct, then we have another question. Who is this person who paid an assassin to kill us? This person may have a grudge against us, isn't that what you think, Shin?"

Conan nodded seriously. " _Tou-san, Kaa-san_ , I think it would be best if the police know about this possibility."

"Of course, Shin- _chan_. We will tell Inspector Megure and Interpol," Yukiko agreed. "Yusaku, do you have any potential assassin in mind?"

"Well, no. I don't really know about it. I hardly encountered cases involving assassin."

"You sure?"

"Yes. Actually, if you want to know more about assassin, you should ask our little son here since he was nearly assassinated after peeking the assassins." Yusaku grinned teasingly at his son who looked back at him annoyingly.

"The assassins who were after me don't have any reason to kill you. Besides, I doubt Vermouth would let it happen if they really intend to do that. She seems quite fond of our family," Conan said, deciding to ignore his father's teasing. "But there's something that still bothers me though. _Tou-san_ , the culprit clearly failed to kill you, but why? Assuming the culprit is a skilled sniper, you should've been dead by now. And why chest? Your Interpol friend was shot in head."

"Sometimes things aren't going to our favor. Maybe the culprit intended to kill me with his or her shot, whether it was in chest or head, but something prevented him or her to do so," Yusaku replied.

"And what is this something?" Yukiko asked.

"Not sure. Perhaps my last movement that was unpredictable to him or her? Perhaps something happened to his or her rifle? Or perhaps something happened to his or her hands?"

Conan and Yukiko were silent, thinking about Yusaku's words for a while. No one spoke until the former actress finally decided to break the silence.

"Well, whatever it is, the most important thing is you're alive, Yu- _chan_." Yukiko smiled softly. "You have no idea how much you've got me and Shin- _chan_ in trouble, do you?"

"At least you two aren't in trouble anymore now that I'm alive," Yusaku replied gently.

"Let's just hope you stay that way for a long time. The culprit may still be targeting you," Conan said.

"Rest assured, Shinichi. The police guard me very well."

"I hope so."

Conan really hoped that his father would be safe. He could imagine murder tricks that could be applied in hospital where people could find many chemicals which could be used for medication or murder. The culprit might not try to kill Yusaku with a sniper rifle anymore, instead he or she could try to kill him with poison. When Conan thought about it, he could not help but to think that hospital was not really a safe place for his father and he still needed to stay there for at least a week! The murderer clearly had enough time to kill his father if he or she chose poison as a weapon.

"It's alright, Shinichi. You can trust us," Yusaku said again with a reassuring smile. When Conan saw that smile, the boy immediately knew that Yusaku really meant it when he said that Conan could trust him. _Them_ : Yusaku, Yukiko, and the police. Finally the boy smiled back. He knew that he could trust his father's words. Yusaku was not a fool in this. He must have had the same thought and he was confident that he could handle this.

TBC

* * *

 **Yep, that's chapter 2 for you. Please correct my English if I made any mistake and don't forget to review!**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan and Magic Kaito.

 **Chapter 3**

 **The Empress' Challenge**

Kaito sighed. It had been three days since his overture show, but he still knew nothing about Wolf. Even though his mother and Jii had helped him a lot to find this man, Kaito still did not know anything. It was not because Wolf was a smart person that he was able to cover his tracks pretty well; Kaito could not really judge him as a smart person when he and his friends were easily fooled by Kid's dummy. It was simply because too many people used Wolf as their alias and too many people had multiple gemstones. If Kaito knew what kind of gemstones that Wolf had, he was sure he would be able to figure him out in a matter of hours, even minutes, but the problem was Kaito did not know. He only knew that the man had two gemstones. No details. Kaito even tried to investigate the man by trying to find out the origin of the arrow which was used to deliver Wolf's letter, but his effort was to no avail. The arrow turned out to be a basic arrow that had been used in schools and _dojos_ all over Japan. Everyone in Japan could have it.

Chikage knew some people who used Wolf as their alias or nickname. Some of them were good people. They were normal civilians who used alias for their harmless cyberspace activity, for their pen name or stage name since they were writers or entertainers, or simply because somehow their skill was so impressive that people nicknamed them Wolf. There were also criminals who used Wolf as their alias, but when Kaito tried to focus on the criminals, he ended up with nothing but their history and how they finally ended up in jail. The problem was that the Wolf Kaito had encountered was not in jail. He was free and perhaps he had never been in jail before.

Tired, Kaito turned off his laptop which had been turned on for hours since before the dawn, and then he laid down on his bed, closing his eyes. It was not that long until his cellphone on the desk vibrated and Kaito had to get up to check it. It was Jii calling him.

"Hello? Jii- _chan_?" Kaito greeted lazily. "What's up? It's still early in the morning."

 _"_ _Young Master, have you seen the news?"_

"What news?" Kaito frowned. Something was not right about Jii. The old man's voice sounded urgent.

 _"_ _The challenge news."_

"Challenge news?" Kaito paused for a moment until something clicked in his head. "Wait, do you mean...?"

 _"_ _Yes. It seems the advisor of Suzuki Financial Group challenges you again."_

Kaito groaned. As much as he loved challenge, this time he did not feel so excited about it. How could he? He had a man under the alias Wolf to be taken care of and now the old man Suzuki wanted to add his problem?! Besides, the thief just had a heist a few days ago! Did he really have to perform another heist this quickly?

 _"_ _Young Master, what are you going to do about it?"_ Jii asked from the other end of the line.

Kaito sighed. "I'll read the news first and after that I'll think about it."

 _"_ _You mean you will consider to decline it?"_

"No! Of course not. Kaitou Kid never runs away from challenges."

 _"_ _Oh, alright then. It's just that you sound different from usual, Young Master."_

"Of course I do. You know that I have another problem to solve," Kaito retorted. "Jii- _chan_ , I'll call you after I read the news. Later." Kaito hung up, then he immediately searched for the news using his tablet. It did not take long for him to find the news. The latest challenge from Jirokichi Suzuki was one of the latest news in the media.

The news told Kaito that Jirokichi Suzuki planned to hold an exhibition in two days. It would exhibit a pendant decorated with an imperial topaz called Red Empress. As its name, the color of topaz was red and the priceless pendant originally belonged to a Brazilian princess who was supposed to become an Empress but she did not because the Empire of Brazil was overthrowned by a coup. The pendant was in the hands of the princess until she died and after that, it was sold to another noble family. Since then, the pendant was constantly passed from one owner to another through trade or inheritance until it became Suzuki family's collection. Now that it was Jirokichi's treasure, the old man decided to use it as a bait to capture Kaitou Kid. He challenged the thief to steal it inside the brand new Grand Suzuki Museum building, which meant that the security system would be better than before. Added with tight security from the police, it sure seemed that Kid would be in trouble this time.

"Heeh... so this pendant was a royal family's treasure. It's a precious antique," Kaito commented after he had read the news. _'So after the Emperor, this time it's the Empress, huh? Interesting.'_ Kaito smirked as he recalled his heist in Grand Suzuki Museum before, with an alexandrite called Green Emperor as the target. That time, the greatest security was Makoto Kyogoku, a very skilled karateka, Sonoko Suzuki's boyfriend. What would it be this time? Jirokichi cleary stated in the news that his museum was different from before because it had new security system, built especially for the phantom thief.

"Wait," Kaito paused suddenly as he remembered something. "This is that old man's challenge, which means—" Kaito gasped in horror, "which means _Tantei-kun_ will come too! This is a disaster!"

It was not like Kaito to be afraid of Conan. Usually he was so excited when he knew that the little detective would come to his heist. Conan was his favorite critic, his rival, a true challenge who made his heist more interesting, but for now the thief was not in good mood. A challenge heist was a burden to him right now when he had a criminal to expose. It would not be a problem if the criminal was someone like the ones at Ryoma's treasure case, but this time, the criminal seemed more astute to the point that after three days of searching, the great Kaitou Kid still did not know anything worthy about him. And now with the possibility of Conan coming to the heist, Kaito became more annoyed. He really did not wish for the boy to come and ruined his heist. At least not this time when he was busy catching a criminal in mask.

 _'_ _Huh? Hold on, this might not be all that bad,'_ Kaito thought suddenly after an idea popped into his head. _'Right, if Wolf and his friends are after my life, it's possible they will come to the Red Empress heist secretly to kill me, which means this heist will tell me if they want to kill me or not. And for_ Tantei-kun _... I guess I can't let him get involved. I'm still not sure whether or not Wolf is related to his father's case.'_

Kaito nodded to himself, deciding to think of the upcoming heist as a good opportunity to investigate Wolf further. Conan's presence might be a trouble, not because he would make it harder for Kid to get the gemstone, but because Kaito had to do his best to not let him get involved if Wolf and his friends truly wanted Kaitou Kid dead. Making _Tantei-kun_ oblivious to criminals who were after the phantom thief surely would be a challenge since the little detective was always curious and sharp.

"Well, it's decided then. I must call Jii- _chan_ now." Kaito grabbed his cellphone and clicked Jii's contact and soon after that, he could hear the old man's voice on the other end of the line.

"Jii- _chan_ , it's me," Kaito said. "I'm going to your parlor. Wait for me. What? School? No problem, I'll just skip."

~o0o~

 _"_ _He accepts it!"_

Ran flinched when she heard her best friend's loud voice from her cellphone.

 _"_ _Ran, he accepts it! Kid-_ sama _will come!"_

"Yes, yes, good for you, Sonoko," Ran replied. "So your uncle have it now? I mean, Kid's letter."

 _"_ _Yeah! It was delivered to him a few minutes ago. The media will know soon. Uncle just called them to our mansion for interview."_

"Is that so? Well, I'm sure I'll be able to see it from TV in a few minutes."

 _"_ _Of course you will! By the way, Ran, tell that brat to come to the heist. Uncle is expecting him."_

"Ah, Conan- _kun_? Sure, I'll tell him."

 _"_ _Just tell him now! He should be with you at home, right? It's almost dusk already,"_ Sonoko urged.

"No, he isn't here," Ran said. "Lately he spends many times outside, joining police investigation with _Otou-san_ or visiting Yusaku- _san_ , you know, Shinichi's dad."

 _"_ _Oh, really? I never thought he can be very concerned towards Shinichi-_ kun _'s dad."_

"Yes. I never thought about it too, but I guess it makes sense in a way. Conan- _kun_ is Kudos' relative after all and he appears to be very close to Shinichi and Yukiko- _san_. I don't think it would be strange if he turns out to be very close to Yusaku- _san_ too."

 _"_ _I guess you're right. But why would he join investigation? Does your dad really allow him?"_

"At first no, but somehow the police started expecting him and asked _Otou-san_ to bring him too, so he has to allow him to come."

 _"_ _Seriously? Even the police intend to involve a kid? What the hell is happening with them?"_ Sonoko grumbled _. "Actually, Ran, instead of that brat, the one who should assist the police is Shinichi-_ kun _! Where is he when his dad almost died?"_

"Ah, it seems Shinichi can't come fo a while. He said he has a serious matter to attend to, you know, another important case," Ran answered nervously. "But he told me that he helped his dad as much as he could and Yukiko- _san_ said so too. Apparently they are in touch about this case."

 _"_ _Che, whatever. When will the brat come home then?"_

"Usually before dinner time, but don't worry, Sonoko, I'll definitely tell him. Besides, I think the heist might cheer him up a bit."

 _"_ _Huh? Is there something wrong with him?"_

"No, not much. It's just that he seems a bit down since Yusaku- _san_ 's incident."

 _"_ _Oh, I see. Well, just be sure to tell him, Ran, and you have to come too."_

"Of course, Sonoko. Don't worry."

 _"_ _Alright then. Looks like the reporters are already waiting in front of the gate. I gotta go. Bye, Ran!"_

"Yes. Bye." Right after that, Sonoko hung up on Ran. Ran just smiled fondly as she thought about her cheerful best friend. She put her cellphone on the table, then she turned on the TV. After a few minutes, she could see Jirokichi Suzuki on the screen, talking to the reporters about the acceptance notice from Kid that he had received not too long ago.

After another few minutes, Kogoro stepped inside the detective agency with a tired look on his face. He just finished today's investigation about Yusaku's case. Ran welcomed her father and asked him about Conan because she was expecting the boy with him, but the private detective did not come home with him. Then Kogoro explained about the bespectacled boy who wanted to stop by the hospital to visit Yusaku. Hearing that, Ran became calmer and soon after that she asked her father about today's investigation. They talked briefly until Kogoro's eyes found the news about Kid on the TV which had been turned on for a while.

"Ooh, so the thief accepts the challenge as usual," he commented as he sat himself on the couch in front of TV.

"Yes. Sonoko told me that Kid's letter had arrived a few minutes ago," Ran said.

"And? Did she say something about the brat?"

"Huh?" Ran startled, wondering how his father could know that. "Yes. She asked Conan- _kun_ to come since her uncle is expecting him. By the way, how do you know, _Otou-san_?"

"It's obvious. That old man is hopeless without Kid Killer. He always is," Kogoro answered lightly. "But seriously, another heist so soon? Didn't Kid just have a heist a few days ago? What a busy thief he is."

"Yes, but isn't that great? Conan- _kun_ always loves Kid's heist. I hope it will cheer him up," Ran said enthusiastically. "You know lately he's a bit down since Yusaku- _san_ 's incident, so I think this heist would be a good opportunity to lift his mood."

"Hmm... maybe."

Conan arrived at home when dinner almost began. Ran did not scowl him as normally she would, instead she made curry rice, Conan's favorite food, as today's dinner. While they eat their dinner, Ran told Conan about the upcoming Kid's heist and that Jirokichi Suzuki expected him to come.

"You will come, right? I know you love Kid's heist," Ran said after she told the boy about Jirokichi's request.

"Um! I will!" Conan replied childishly. He did want to come. He always loved Kid's heist and he wanted to catch the white thief desperately and now he became more eager to attend the heist after he had heard about Yusaku chasing Kid in the past. He knew that his father chased the thief in the past, but he just heard the whole story about that today when he visited his parents. It seemed that Kid also admitted Yusaku as his rival.

Conan wondered though, how come the thief looked so young, maybe in early twenties, but Yusaku and the police were already chasing him many years ago? Actually, this question had been in his mind ever since he knew Kid from Professor Agasa. At first he thought that the thief should be old by this time, but it appeared he was not. Conan was surprised to see the thief looked so young like a young man and finally he deduced that the current Kid was different from the past Kid. The current Kid was the second generation of Kaitou Kid, but he deduced that before he met Vermouth. Vermouth aka Chris Vineyard turned out to be the same person as Sharon Vineyard, and judging by her appearance, she looked as if she had not aged at all. She stayed young. At first Conan thought that the actress was wearing disguise on her face, but after hearing Jodie's testimony about her, Conan had to admit that Vermouth indeed had not aged at all and based on that fact, it might be possible that the current Kid and the old Kid was the same person, though the detective did not really believe in this idea.

Conan had discussed this matter with his father. The novelist seemed interested in his son's theory, but did not really bother to think much about it. Yusaku even stated that he was more interested in watching the duel between his son and the white thief even though he himself was Kaitou Kid's rival.

In the end, Conan decided to forget about the thief's identity until he was able to catch him. As much as he wanted to see the face behind that monocle, Conan knew that he should not disturb the thief's privacy outside his heist. The detective had long respected him after all, since Kid had helped him many times and keeping his identity as Shinichi Kudo in secret. That was why he never intended to trail the thief using his transmitter. That was why he never intended to take off Kid's hat and monocle during heists, not until the thief was finally could not escape anymore. Not until the thief finally gave up.

"Say, Ran- _neechan_ , I heard Kid's target in the upcoming heist would be a red topaz. Is that true?" Conan asked.

"Yes," Ran nodded. "Its name is Red Empress. The gem is attached to a pendant."

 _'_ _Red topaz is rare. It's very expensive,'_ Conan thought. _'Moreover, if I'm not wrong, it will be exhibited in Grand Suzuki Museum. Kid had a heist there once with a target named Green Emperor. Huh, what a coincidence.'_ Conan smirked in amusement. _'But wait a minute, that time the one who guarded the jewel was Kyogoku-_ san _, but I'm sure he won't do the same now. The old man seems confident in his museum's security though. I wonder what exactly does he mean by that?'_

Not long after that, Ran's cellphone suddenly rang. The teenage girl quickly picked it up, answering the call. "Yes, Sonoko?"

 _"_ _Ran, I forgot to tell you that you should bring the brat tomorrow to the museum. Uncle wants to show him the security system."_

"O-oh, okay, I'll tell him. Anything else?"

 _"_ _No, that's all—oh! You can invite your dad to come with you. I'm sure Uncle will be glad to have him on his side. Professor Agasa will be welcomed too!"_

"Really? They can come?"

 _"_ _Of course! The more the merrier! Alright, that's all from me. See you later, Ran! Bye!"_ And she hung up instantly.

"What did Sonoko- _neechan_ say?" Conan asked immediately. When there was a challenge heist from Jirokichi Suzuki, anything that Sonoko said usually related to Kid and the heist.

"She said that you have to go to the museum tomorrow. Her uncle wants to show you the security system. She also said that _Otou-san_ could come with you. She too invites Professor to the heist," Ran answered.

"Oh..."

"Say, Conan- _kun_ , why don't you tell Professor to come tomorrow?" Ran asked.

"Okay!" Conan nodded and soon after that he was talking with Agasa on his cellphone, asking the professor to come to the heist if he could, but since the heist would be broadcasted in TV, Agasa could not come because he could not leave Ai alone at home and Ai clearly had to stay out of broadcasted heist for her safety. In the end, Conan told Ran that Agasa could not come because he was busy with his experiment.

"Oh, that's too bad," Ran commented after hearing Conan's explanation about the professor. "Well, it seems the three of us will have to go without Professor. _Otou-san_ , you will come, right?"

"Sure. This heist might be a worthy entertainment after all of that sniper case things," Kogoro replied. He did feel tired with Yusaku's case and really hoped that Kid's heist could refresh his brain. In his mind, Conan too agreed with Kogoro. He realized that lately he was depressed thinking of his father's case. He too wanted refreshment and Kid's heist might be able to give him exactly that.

TBC

* * *

 **Review please :)**


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito.

 **Chapter 4**

 **The Unusual Kid**

Conan panted when he finally reached the rooftop. He caught his breath while turned his head back and forth, searching for a certain man in white. The mischievous phantom thief had stolen the jewel once again when it was perfectly guarded with tight security. The security system that guarded the Red Empress' room was a very complex infrared laser grid. If anyone touched it, that person would be electrocuted and trapped inside a metal jail. The laser grid would active once the jewel's box was opened, so in other words, Kid might be able to steal it, but he would not be able to get out of the jewel's room due to the invisible lasers. He might be able to evade the lasers if he wore infrared goggle, but that option was meaningless in this heist since Jirokichi made the lasers kept moving. Even if Kid could see it, he would not be able to evade it, but the phantom thief managed to prove otherwise because he was able to steal the gem and get out of the room safely. Kid was able to steal the Red Empress which was guarded with such amount of infrared laser!

Conan, Jirokichi, Ran, Sonoko, and Kogoro had watched the thief via monitor when he entered the room and stole the gem. They noticed that the lasers were active immediately after Kid had opened the jewel's box, but those lasers suddenly stopped moving; the thief clearly had messed with the system, but what was more surprising was the fact that Kaitou Kid walked easily through the lasers without wearing an infrared goggle! The thief just walked and sometimes stooped and jumped, avoiding the invisible lasers with his naked eyes and finally managed to get out of the room with the Empress in his hand. After that, Conan did not need to watch any longer or thinking about what kind of trick the thief had used to be able to walk through infrared lasers without goggle. He knew for sure that Kid did not use any trick; he simply memorized the lasers' patterns. The shrunken detective ran out of monitor room where he had watched the thief's performance before. With police officers guarded the entire building, Kid would have to disguise himself as one of them to get out of the museum without being noticed, but since this time his fans were waiting for him to reappear in front of them with the jewel of victory as he promised them, the thief would have to show himself and give some speech about his success in stealing the Red Empress. That was why Conan had ran as fast as possible to the rooftop. He deduced that Kid would almost certainly went there to meet his fans and TV cameras.

True to Conan's deduction, the phantom thief was there, facing the crowd below him with his triumphant grin while helicopters surrounded him from above. The cameras were directed to him as he prepared to give his speech. He would already do it if not because of Conan's presence. Kid turned back to face his rival, his grin still on his face.

"My, my, you sure are quick, _Tantei-kun_ ," Kid remarked as he pocketed both of his hands.

Conan smirked. "You really caught me this time. To be able to memorize the lasers' patterns and avoiding it with naked eyes, you're really something."

"Thank you for your compliment, but as you can see, my audiences are waiting for my speech, so could you please not disturb me for a while?"

"Like hell I—" Conan suddenly froze. _'What was that?'_ Conan was sure he had just seen something. Something like... scratch. In Kid's clothes. Something had scratched Kid's upper arm. _'And that scratch, it has... dark color? And what's this scent? It smells like... like... blood?!'_ At this sudden realization, Conan's eyes widened. Kaitou Kid was hurt?

"Kid, you're—" Conan stopped when he saw the thief put his index finger in front of his own lips, asking the detective to shut his mouth. There was a faint smile on Kid's face, a mysterious yet serious smile. The thief knew that Conan had discovered his little injury and he asked the detective to keep silent about it.

"You do realize that I won't let you get away easily, don't you?" Conan finally changed the topic, deciding not to ask the thief about the blood that he smelled even though he was very curious about it.

"I do," Kid nodded slowly as he took out the Red Empress from his pocket, "but I'm afraid you will have to let me go this time, _Tantei-kun_. I'm not in the mood to play with you and you already know why."

"What do you mean?" Conan frowned, stared suspiciously at the thief and strangely, the boy somehow felt concerned about him. Kid did not answer him. He just looked at the gem intently under the moonlight, making his fans below screamed in happiness knowing their favorite thief was able to steal the Red Empress. Not long after that, Conan saw him sighed.

"Seems this one isn't the right one too," Kid said disappointedly. "Here, _Tantei-kun_ , catch!" The thief threw the jewel to Conan and the boy swiftly caught it. Kid smiled after he saw the red topaz was safe in his rival's hand.

"Well, since you won't allow me to speak with my beloved audiences, I guess this is our parting," Kid concluded. "Farewell, _Meitantei_."

With a smoke bomb, Kid vanished from Conan's sight. The rooftop was full of smoke that even helicopters' light could not spot the thief. After a while, the smoke gradually disappeared, but the phantom thief was nowhere to be found. Conan was stunned on the rooftop, not because Kaitou Kid was able to get away again, but because of the thief's unusual behaviour. Something was odd about Kid and that oddity made the shrunken detective confused.

Conan went back inside the museum. He gave back the Red Empress to Jirokichi without much talk, then he joined Kogoro and Ran to go home after excused themselves to Jirokichi and Sonoko. He did not tell anyone about Kid's injury since the thief asked him to keep quiet about it. He was curious though. Why did Kid ask him to keep quiet about his little injury? Who was the person who injured him? Police officer? Jirokichi's private security? Up until now, the phantom thief never seemed to have injuries. His task force never hurt him. Even Jirokichi once forbade a foreign inspector to shoot the thief, so it was impossible for him and his people to harm Kid.

 _'_ _Maybe the security system wounded him or he wounded himself?'_ Conan thought when he was in a taxi that drove him home. _'But I doubt Kid would make such mistakes. Besides, that scratch... that was more like a bullet scratch. Did he get shot? Who did that to him?'_

Suddenly an idea hit him.

 _'_ _No... Don't tell me this is the same case as_ Tou-san _'s... No, it can't be, right?'_ Conan thought uneasily. _'No, impossible. Kid has nothing to do with Interpol and_ Tou-san _except that he's a wanted criminal and both_ Tou-san _and Interpol are chasing him. Maybe he is a criminal, but he isn't a murderer, so he can't be the culprit who shot_ Tou-san _. Judging by his injury, he's more likely a victim. A victim of what? Sniper?'_ Conan frowned. _'No no no! Why am I going back to that? He has nothing to do with this sniper case! Or does he?'_

Conan was lost in thought for a few minutes. The taxi kept driving. Kogoro was sleeping in the front seat while Ran was sitting beside Conan, looking at the view outside the window. Finally the car stopped in front of their home and Conan walked out of the car with Kogoro and Ran. Right when he stepped inside the agency, the thief's words suddenly echoed in his head, making the shrunken detective stunned.

 _"_ _...I'm not in the mood to play with you and you already know why."_

 _'_ _I already know_ _ **why**_ _? What did he mean? His injury? He had to leave soon because of his injury?'_ Conan thought in confusion. _'That doesn't make any sense! His injury isn't a fatal one. It's just a scratch! It can't be his injury. So what is it that made him had to leave so soon?'_ And suddenly something clicked in his head. _'He had to leave because he knew that someone was after his life! He had to leave as soon as possible to keep people safe. That scratch... he expected me to know that someone was targeting him.'_ And then Conan's eyes widened again. _'Does this mean Kid really is a sniper's target? Does this mean he is indeed related to_ Tou-san _'s case? But—but why? What is his connection with_ Tou-san _and Interpol that makes him a sniper's target?'_

Conan knew that there was still a possibility that the people who were after Kid's life were different from people who were after Yusaku's life, but he could not eliminate the other possibility, a possibility that Kid too was a target of people who targeted Yusaku. The more he thought about it, the more Conan became uneasy. And with Kid asked him to keep quiet about his injury, Conan became more confused. He wanted to talk about Kid's injury with his parents, Agasa, and Ai to gain more information, but if he told them, that would mean that he broke the thief's trust in him. As much as Conan wanted to capture Kid, the detective still respected him and he would hate himself if he ever broke the thief's trust after Kid had done many things to him: saving Genta, Ran, and Ai, keeping Conan's true identity in secret, and saving Conan himself when a certain terrorist threw him out of a flying airship.

 _'_ _Damn you, Kid! Just why did you ask me to keep quiet?'_ Conan sighed in frustation but soon after that, the answer to his question came to him.

 _'_ _Of course! He knows that_ Tou-san _is a victim of sniper case. He asked me to keep quiet because he was afraid I would jump to a conclusion about him being involved in the same case and thus might lead the police to think the same thing. He didn't want me to jump into such conclusion because he himself wasn't sure about it.'_ Conan nodded surely, confident enough in his deduction. This way he could keep quiet for a while until he knew the truth about people who targeted Kid. _'This means someone clearly is after Kid's life, whether or not this someone is the same person who had shot_ Tou-san _. Will he be okay?'_

Conan could not help but to feel concerned toward the phantom thief. He would hate to see the thief dead and for the first time, the shrunken detective really wanted to help him. He wanted to help Kid in catching those people who wanted to kill him, but what could he do when the thief himself asked him to keep quiet? That request could also mean that Kid did not want any help from him because he did not want to involve innocent people. Realizing he could not help Kid for now, Conan decided to forget the thief. He was sure Kid could take care of himself. Right now, Conan needed to focus on his father's case and that was exactly what he would do.

~o0o~

Kaito groaned as he laid on his bed carefully, feeling hurt when his injured arm touched the bed. The teen had just finished bandaging his wound and was about to sleep. Kaito hissed in pain as he tilted his body slowly so that his wounded arm would not have to touch the bed. It was only a scratch, but it felt hurt nonetheless. He was fortunate that the bullet only scratched his upper arm. What if the bullet pierced his bone or worst, maybe his chest or his head? Kaitou Kid could be dead if that happened. Kaito shuddered when he thought about the title of the news: "Kaitou Kid was Found Dead After Answering Jirokichi Suzuki's Challenge!" Died in front of fans and audiences, how bad does it sound? And the whole world would know that Kaitou Kid actually was Kaito Kuroba, a Japanese teenager who lived in Tokyo. What a nightmare!

"Ah, but that doesn't happen. I'm alive and well," Kaito said to himself, then he grinned. "I won the challenge too, again. And _Tantei-kun_ seemed to be satisfied with my performance! He surely hadn't thought even for once that Kaitou Kid is able to walk through infrared lasers with naked eyes!" For a minute, Kaito could not stop smiling as he recalled his last encounter with the mini detective. After that, he remembered something else which made him sighed.

 _'_ _I failed though. I can't keep_ Tantei-kun _out of this. He's too sharp,'_ Kaito thought regretfully. That time, at the heist, right after he had arrived at the rooftop, someone shot him from afar. If he had not lost balance for a while, the bullet might pierced his chest, his neck, or his head. Not long after the shot, Suzuki's helicopters flew toward the thief, protecting him from the sniper. His audiences were screaming in excitement when they spotted him at the rooftop, the cameras were filming him. Kaito had to put his best poker face. He had to pretend that he did not feel hurt in his arm. Fortunately the scratch was small and his cape and the moonlight was able to cover it from his audiences, but unfortunately, a certain detective found out about it. The moment _Tantei-kun_ realized it, Kaito's attempt to keep the detective out of his problem had already failed.

 _'_ _But I told him to keep quiet. I hope he really will keep quiet about it,'_ Kaito added in his mind. _'He will, right? If he can't keep quiet, things will turn out more confusing and I'll be in a lot of trouble.'_

Actually Kaito had prepared himself to face a sniper that time. He already checked every potential spot that could be used by the sniper to shoot him. He already calculated his movement so that the sniper would not be able to shoot him easily, but that shot was too fast and came from unpredictable direction. The thief was not prepared for that. If only Kaito was able to fully dodge the bullet, he did not have to ask _Tantei-kun_ to keep quiet about his wound and the detective did not have to get involved in this mess. Kaito really should start training himself to face snipers; he almost died many times because of them! He remembered his encounter with snipers in some cases such as Memories Egg case and April 4th robbery case. Now added with a sniper in tonight's heist, somehow Kaito had a feeling he would face another sniper again in the future. He really should not underestimate snipers.

"Or maybe I shouldn't get too close to _Tantei-kun_? Every time I got attacked by sniper, somehow he was always involved in the same cases," Kaito frowned. "Yeah, maybe I should keep my distance from _Tantei-kun_. He's bad for my luck," the teen finally concluded.

Except for his failure in keeping Kid Killer oblivious to Kid's problem, tonight's heist was a success to Kaito. He was able to steal the gem, he was able to put a splendid performance with his "walk through infrared lasers with naked eyes" show, he was able to satisfy his favorite critic, and he was able to confirm that someone indeed was after his life. This someone could be Wolf's minion or Wolf himself. This someone could be Snake or his subordinate. Kaito did not know for sure yet, but at least for now he was sure that someone wanted to kill Kaitou Kid.

Kaito blinked tiredly and yawned. He knew he was too tired to do anything. Finally he chose to sleep after he remembered that tomorrow was going to be a busy Sunday for him. He had to finish his homework for Monday plus investigate Kid's sniper case; He had released some of his doves to record anything happened around the Grand Suzuki Museum during the heist with their mini cameras, so maybe he could find something about his sniper from their cameras—he would check it tomorrow. Lastly, he had promised Aoko to go with her to Shibuya. He surely was going to be busy.

The next day, Kaito woke up at dawn and immediately started working on his homework. After that, he watched his doves' working results carefully, trying to spot anything suspicious in those camera footage. He found something suspicious there. He saw a long stick protruded from a small window in a high building, quite far from the museum. Kaito tried to zoom it and he was surprised to see what he had found out.

It was a sniper. Someone was holding the long stick which turned out to be a rifle.

Kaito immediately checked which building the sniper had used at the time to shoot Kaitou Kid and judging from 3D map, that building was certainly a fine spot to shoot anyone on the Grand Suzuki museum's rooftop. Kaito did not consider that hotel before because it was so far from the museum. He did not think the sniper would be able to shoot from such a distance like that.

"Heh, looks like this sniper is pretty good, to be able to shoot from that building," Kaito commented. _'But how did this sniper manage to sneak in with a rifle? And who is this person? Too bad the camera couldn't get a better picture.'_

Kaito could not decide if the sniper was male or female, let alone the sniper's face. But at least he knew that the sniper had used a hotel building as a place to shoot Kid. If Kaito could tap the hotel's camera footage, he might be able to know more about the sniper. So Kaito called Jii. He asked him to go to the hotel to collect information about the sniper and of course, to tap the camera footage too. Kaito himself would go there after he had fulfilled his promise to Aoko who by the way was already shouting from the house next door, calling him to have a breakfast together at her home. Kaito shouted back from his bedroom's window, telling her that he would come in a minute.

"Ugh, that Ahoko... why do I have to hear her yells every morning?" Kaito grumbled as he walked out of his house toward Aoko's house. When he finally arrived, Aoko opened the door for him and told him to go to the dining room. Nakamoris' dining room was a place where people could cook, eat, and watch TV all at once. As soon as Kaito entered the dining room, Ginzo Nakamori greeted him cheerfully. Judging by the untouched breakfast in front of him and a newspaper in one of his hands, Kaito knew the Inspector was waiting for him while reading the newspaper.

"You look happy, Inspector. Did you read a good news?" Kaito asked. _'Strange,'_ he thought _. 'Usually he would look upset after Kid's heist since he always fails to capture the thief, just like he failed to catch me yesterday.'_

"That's right! I just read a good news!" the inspector answered enthusiastically. "Kaito- _kun_ , you know the sniper case which occurred recently, don't you?"

"The one involving Yusaku Kudo?"

"Yes, that one!" Inspector Nakamori nodded. "Seems the NYPD and Interpol have found something about the case. They finally have more specific suspects after all this time."

"Seriously?" Kaito could not believe it. They found the suspects?

"Yes! And even more surprising is the fact that they had a help from Japanese police!"

"Huh? Really?"

"Really! My colleague, Inspector Megure, assisted them in this case. It is said that he had help from Kudo- _sensei_ and Detective Mouri too. Isn't this great? Finally there's a progress in this case!"

"Well, that certainly is a good news," Kaito replied. _'Detective Mouri helped too? Seems_ Tantei-kun _'s very diligent in this case.'_ "Say, Inspector, about the suspects, how many of them? Who are they?"

"There are five of them and all of them are foreigners. Two of them were prisoners and the rest are just normal civilians, but they are related to some criminals," the inspector explained.

"Related to some criminals? You mean like they are criminal's family?"

"Yes, more or less. The newspaper said that one of them is a criminal's relative and the other two are a criminal's lover and a criminal's sibling."

"But they're just normal civilians, not snipers, right?"

"Yes, but one of them was a pro archer, so there are only two suspects among the three of them who look like normal civilians."

"What about the other two? Those who were once imprisoned?"

"They both are trained in firearms. One of them was a drug smuggler and the other was a robber. And yes, they're not in jail anymore now. The smuggler was released from prison 7 months ago and the robber has been free for almost 3 years."

"Maybe I can understand why those ex-prisoners are in suspect list, but why the other three too? They might be related to criminals, but why would they become suspects of this sniper case?" Kaito asked confusedly.

"Obviously because they are related to criminals who were imprisoned by Interpol with Yusaku Kudo's help!" Aoko suddenly joined the talk. "Right, _Otou-san_?"

"Right," Nakamori nodded seriously. "I heard from Megure that Kudo- _sensei_ often helps Interpol in chasing criminals ever since he has moved to United States. Besides, it's not a secret that the culprit who shot Kudo- _sensei_ might be related to the murder of an Interpol official which had happened recently too. We all know that that Interpol official was Kudo- _sensei'_ s acquaintance. Not to mention there's another possibility..."

"Another possibility?" Kaito stared at Ginzo curiously. Aoko too looked at his father with the same curiosity.

"Yes. There's a possibility the one who shot Kudo- _sensei_ is an assassin."

"Assassin?!" Aoko looked surprised. "I see! Even a normal civilian can hire assassin to kill Kudo- _sensei_ and his Interpol acquaintance!"

Ginzo nodded once more. "Interpol have some datas about international assassin, so they are investigating it as well."

"So who is this suspected assassin?" Aoko asked.

Ginzo shrugged. "They haven't told it to public yet."

Kaito was silent. _'Assassin, huh...'_ True, everyone knew that the ex-Interpol official was an acquaintance of Yusaku Kudo since Yusaku stated it to the police and the police shared it with the media. True, everyone knew that the culprit who had shot Yusaku might have a connection to the ex-Interpol official's murder case because that presumption was stated in the media. Kaito had guessed about it even before the media stated it simply because he and his mother knew Kudos, but this possibility about assassin... today was the first time Kaito heard about it and now that he knew, Kaito became uneasy. A skilled sniper could be an assassin as well. The one who shot Kid could be an assassin. Kaito could not help but afraid that his sniper case might be really connected to Yusaku's case.

Kaito wanted to know more about this assassin thing, but first, he had to know more about the suspects whom Ginzo had mentioned before. He wanted to know whether or not they were related to Black Fox and Wolf. He was so eager to finish his breakfast because he wanted to read the latest news at his home as soon as possible and begin his research about the newly suspects.

"By the way, since today is Sunday, what are you two going to do?" Ginzo suddenly asked, changing the topic.

"I guess I will spend my time at home, reading news, chatting with _Kaa-san_ , and developing tricks for my magic show," Kaito answered lightly.

"No! Kaito, you promised to go to Shibuya with me!" Aoko retorted sharply, making the young magician want to bang his head on the table as he remembered his promise to her.

 _'_ _Craaap!'_ "Right, right, I did promise you." Kaito sighed. _'Urgh, why did I make such a promise to her?'_

It seemed that his plans would have to wait for a while until he returned from his 'date' with his childhood friend. Kaito could only hope that Aoko would not drag him for too long.

TBC

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 **You can find Memories Egg case in DC movie 3 and April 4th Robbery case in DC movie 10.**

 **Thank you for your time and please don't forget to review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Ehem, I just dicovered that writing a crime story is quite a challenge for me. Also, things are starting to get busy in my real life, so no doubt I'm going to be busy for a while. Maybe I can't keep updating every week—really sorry for that—but I don't have any intention to abandon this story, so please rest assured. I'll try my best to update as soon as I can. Thank you for your time and your support all this time. Here is chapter 5. Hope you enjoy it and please don't forget to review!**

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Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan nor Magic Kaito.

 **Chapter 5**

 **Who is Wolf?**

 _Suspect number 1. Name: Michael Reyes. Occupation: cafe owner, ex-robber._

 _He spent many years in prison due to his crime: robbering banks and jewelry shops. He has been free from prison for almost 3 years. He is trained in firearms, especially in handgun. He is on the list of suspect because his boss when he was still a robber is in prison now after Yusaku Kudo helped Interpol to capture him. The boss' name is John Matthews. Reyes lives in New York and he was there when the murder of ex-Interpol official named Victor Wood occurred. Reyes was in his cafe that time and his employees witnessed him._

 _Suspect number 2. Name: Elizabeth Gray. Occupation: blogger, writer, ex-smuggler_

 _She spent 8 years in prison due to her crime in smuggling drugs and was released 7 months ago. She was trained in handgun. She is on the list of suspect because once she was a criminal's accomplice who's now in prison after Yusaku Kudo helped Interpol to capture him. The criminal's name is Eric Wu and he was a smuggler too. Gray lives in New York and she was there when the murder of Victor Wood occurred. She claimed that she was in her apartment all day, but nobody could ensure her alibi._

 _Suspect number 3. Name: Edward Madison. Occupation: mathematician, professor in a university_

 _He is on the list because he is a criminal's little brother. His older brother, Peter Madison, was imprisoned for killing his own parents and uncle. The case which happened 8 years ago was solved by Yusaku Kudo an his acquaintance Victor Wood. Later the police found out that Peter killed his family because they kept ignoring and even torturing his math-genius little brother. Madison family was proud of their talents in arts, but Edward was very different from them. So Edward might want to avenge his imprisoned brother by killing Victor Wood and Yusaku Kudo who had sent his brother to jail. Edward lives in New York and works in New York University. He was there when the murder of Victor Wood occurred, but his neighbors witnessed him at his home at the time when Wood's murder was estimated to occur. He was in Tokyo to give lecture in Tohto University when Yusaku Kudo's incident happened. That means he isn't the one who shot him since he was giving lecture when Yusaku Kudo got shot._

 _Suspect number 4. Name: Mia Vasquez. Occupation: pro archery athlete_

 _She is on the list because she has a relative, Anna Martinez, who has been imprisoned for her crime: killing an archery athlete who was Mia's rival. The case which happened 5 years ago was solved by Victor Wood with Yusaku Kudo's help via cellphone. Mia's rival turned out to be a cunning person; she had tried to harm Mia many times before competitions. Her rival had once nearly killed her with peanut—Mia appears to have severe peanut allergy, so the motive of Anna's crime was to protect Mia. Mia might want to avenge Anna by killing Yusaku and Victor. Mia lives in Los Angeles and she was in Tokyo for_ kyudo _training in Arata Gymnasium's_ kyudo dojo _when Yusaku's incident happened, but she can't be the one who shot him since her instructor and some students witnessed her practising_ kyudo _in the_ dojo _._

 _Suspect number 5. Name: Harry Green. Occupation: architect_

 _He is on the list of suspect because he had a girlfriend, Yuriko Adams, who was supposed to be imprisoned 4 years ago after smuggling drugs to get money for Harry's surgery. At that time Harry had to undergo a surgery after he had a car accident, but he could not afford the payment for it. Unbeknownst to him, Yuriko committed crime to pay for his surgery. He only found out about it later when he already had the surgery and the police finally had found Yuriko to be guilty for smuggling. Yusaku and an Interpol official aided the police in capturing Yuriko, but they were late because Yuriko had committed suicide before they reached him. She committed suicide by jumping off a cliff to the sea below with her car. Her car was found quite far from the fall point, but her body was never found, presumed lost in the sea. From this story, Harry might want to avenge Yuriko by killing Yusaku and that Interpol official, who's none other than Victor Wood. Harry clearly is still in love with her and maybe he thinks that Yuriko committed suicide because of Yusaku-_ san _and Victor Wood. Harry lives in Washington DC, but he was in New York for work when the murder of Victor Wood occurred. Harry claimed that he was jogging when Victor Wood was murdered, but since it was early in the morning, nobody saw him, so nobody can ensure his alibi._

Kaito stared at a piece of paper seriously that night, thinking hard about what he had written there.

Right after his 'date' with Aoko, he immediately went to Blue Parrot to hear about Jii's investigation in a certain hotel. Kaito could not come because Aoko dragged him too long and he did not have any possible and logical reason to refuse her. He had to spend his time until almost dusk with her and when finally he had a chance to get away, Kaito did not waste that opportunity. He said goodbye to Aoko and ran toward Blue Parrot where Jii had been waiting for him patiently.

Jii's investigation did not help Kaito that much. The old man was able to get the footage with a suspicious person in it. That person brought a guitar case. His/her face was hidden behind a masker and a hat. His/her body shape was covered pretty well too that Kaito could not know if it was man's or woman's body. A person who covered his/herself pretty well like that clearly was suspicious. There was a possibility that actually the guitar case contained a rifle, not a guitar. The room where the sniper had shot Kid was actually a male restroom in the hotel's bar, but there was nothing there when Jii inspected it since the restroom had been cleaned in the morning. Kaito knew that if he wanted more information, he needed police to investigate it further but he obviously could not do that, right? No one but he and Jii knew about the sniper in the hotel and that was because of Kaitou Kid's dove. There was no way Kaito would tell the authorities about it if it could endanger Kaitou Kid's identity.

With limited information from Jii's investigation, Kaito decided to find more information from the latest news about Interpol's five suspects. He read every news about it and summarized it on a piece of paper to help him in figuring Wolf's identity and his relationship with Black Fox.

Black Fox or Eric Wu was a smuggler and a prisoner for now, and he appeared in Interpol's list of suspects with matched description, which meant he was more likely to be involved in Yusaku's case indirectly, since the one who mostly could be involved directly was Wolf. But there was a problem. Eric Wu's friend, Elizabeth Gray, was a woman while Wolf clearly was a man. So Elizabeth clearly was not Wolf, but she could be one of Wolf's acquaintance.

Michael Reyes was a robber in a robber group under the leadership of a man called John Matthews. They were clearly not smugglers since Interpol's report did not say so and there was nothing that could make Michael worked with Black Fox or Wolf as far as Kaito could understand. On top of it, he was not in Tokyo when Kid met Wolf. Based on that fact, Kaito did not include him in his suspect list.

Mia Vasquez was a professional archer and she was in Tokyo quite long for _kyudo_ training. She could throw an arrow precisely at Kid that night when the thief received an arrow with a letter attached to it. Wolf claimed to be the sender of that letter, so there was a possibility Wolf was the one who threw the arrow too. But Mia was a woman and Wolf was a man, so of course Mia and Wolf were two different people. Perhaps Mia could be the one who threw the arrow that night and if so, it meant she was one of Wolf's minions, but was it possible for her to work with Wolf? Kaito could not see any connection between Mia, Wolf, and Black Fox since her relative, Anna, was just an ordinary murderer who only committed crime once. Kaito was not sure about Mia, so he did not include her in his list, but he put a mental note to himself to keep an eye on her.

Edward and Peter clearly had nothing to do with Black Fox. Peter was not a smuggler or anything related to that, neither was Edward. They were just a pair of brothers who had ungrateful family and unfortunate experience. And Edward could not be Wolf since their posture were different and Edward could not speak Japanese, unlike Wolf who was fluent in it.

Yuriko Adams was a smuggler too, just like Black Fox. Perhaps she had contact with Black Fox and Wolf sometime in the past—no, perhaps not with Black Fox but with Wolf since Black Fox was imprisoned 6 years ago while Yuriko's case happened 4 years ago—but she clearly was not Wolf since she was a woman and she was already dead. Yuriko's boyfriend, Harry, was a man, but he could not be Wolf. Wolf clearly was in Japan when Kid met him, but Harry had been in USA for months.

In short, Kaito's list of suspicious people based on Interpol's list of suspects were only Elizabeth and Eric, but Kaito had still not found Wolf. The teen could not find him among Interpol's suspects. As for Yusaku's case, every suspects in Interpol's list were candidates of murderer. If the culprit who tried to kill Yusaku and already killed the novelist's acquaintance was the same person as the one who shot Kid, perhaps Kaito's list of suspects could reduce Yusaku's list of suspects. Perhaps, if the one who shot Kid was related to Wolf and Black Fox.

 _'_ _I have to make sure if the one who shot me is related to Wolf or not, but how? Should I make another heist? But what's the target? There's no jewel exhibition recently, not after that old man's challenge.'_ Kaito laid down on his bed, closed his eyes for a while. The teen was thinking and after a few seconds, he opened his eyes and got up in hurry. _'That's right, jewel! Wolf claimed that he had two gemstones in his possession. Maybe I can figure him out if I try to search people who have multiple gemstones and related to those suspects.'_ Kaito immediately turned on his tablet and searched for any news about anyone who had multiple gemstones and perhaps related to the suspects, but after hours of searching, the teen could not find anyone who met the criteria.

"Ugh, this is frustrating!" Kaito mussed his hair in frustration. He might be able to find Wolf if he knew what gemstones the man had, but the letter which Kaito received from him did not tell anything specific about those gemstones. Wolf was taking precaution. He intended to inform Kid about the gemstones further if the thief had accepted the job, but Kid refused before he could get anything specific about the gemstones.

"Wolf... just who is he?" Kaito muttered. He only knew that Wolf was a grown up man, able to speak Japanese fluently, and had a bunch of friends—if not minions—supporting him. And the man clearly knew Black Fox aka Eric Wu and obviously, he was not included in Interpol's list of suspects.

That night Kaito spent most of his time trying to gain any information about Wolf. He read many articles about Black Fox and his gang, he read many news about jewel owners and exhibitions, he read every news related to Yusaku Kudo and Interpol, but all of his effort was to no avail and in the end Kaito had no choice but to sleep when he realized he had searched for information until midnight.

After days of searching, Kaito still did not know much about Wolf. Finally he had to give up. A mere high schooler and a magician's assistant could not possibly know him if they only relied on media's information. Something about Wolf was hidden from public, so of course the media did not know. The only way to get that hidden information was by asking authorities, such as police and Interpol, to investigate Black Fox further.

 _'_ _But how can I ask authorities? I'm a thief. Besides, if I ever tell Inspector Nakamori about Wolf and Black Fox, he'll be suspicious of me—oh, I can disguise myself as a police officer!'_ Kaito smiled brightly, but his smile soon vanished when he remembered something. _'No. Too risky. The homicide division is in tight security since Yusaku-_ san _'s incident. Even if I succeed, they will find out sooner or later that someone disguised as a police officer and sneak into their office and if that happens, this case will become more complicated than it should be—we don't need that—what if they make Kaitou Kid a suspect?'_ Kaito shook his head quickly, did not want to think about it any further. _'I guess I should wait patiently for Yusaku-_ san _'s case development for now,'_ Kaito finally thought, feeling helpless. The teen who was in his class right now sweeping his fingers on his tablet, reading the latest news with a bored expression. For now, nothing seemed exciting for him aside from Wolf and Black Fox. Those news about entertainers' life, government's politics, or development of economy did not really interest him, but suddenly Kaito's eyes widened when he found a news about Yusaku Kudo. The teen eagerly read it. Of course he would be interested in news about Kaitou Kid's parent.

The news told Kaito that apparently the famous novelist was discharged from hospital. He would be going home under the protection of Japanese police. There would be police too guarding him at home until the perpetrator who shot him was caught.

 _'_ _Hmm... maybe I should visit him since he's already out of hospital. He may have some useful infos,'_ Kaito mused. _'Besides, there's a possibility the culprit may want to kill him again when he's at home. If that happens, perhaps I will have an opportunity to see who that culprit is.'_

Kaito had decided. He would visit Yusaku Kudo at his home in Beika. Since he wanted to gain some infos from the novelist, he should disguise himself as someone worthy of such infos, maybe a police officer? Perhaps one of detectives in Division 1? He had disguised himself as Shiratori and Takagi before, so maybe he could try to disguise as them once again. The teen did not really mind about police officers who were tasked to guard the novelist. He was confident he could avoid them since he was used to have plenty of police officers around him in his heist. Besides, his disguise technique was perfect and he was a great actor! What could go wrong?

There was one thing he did not think though. He forgot about a certain FBI agent who lived with Kudos under the alias of Subaru Okiya.

~o0o~

The moment Kaito spotted Subaru from his dove's camera footage, the magician smacked his palm to his face.

 _'_ _Ugh, I totaly forgot about him,'_ Kaito grumbled in his head as he leaned on his chair in his bedroom. It was a good thing he saw the footage. If he did not, he might end up making mistake by sneaking into Kudo residence without considering the mysterious man who also lived there. When Kaito encountered Subaru as Kid at one of his heist, the magician knew in an instant that the blond man was no ordinary man. He figured that Kaitou Kid had taken his picture! Moreover, Kaito had seen something like a machine around his neck—the teen was not sure what that thing was—and his aura was not normal too. Kaito had thought about it deeply right after their first encounter in the restroom because he knew that he had felt the similar aura somewhere before and after minutes of thinking, he finally realized that Subaru's aura was similar to that Bourbon guy's who once pointed a gun at him thanks to _Tantei-kun_ who forced him to disguise as a woman called Sherry. In short, that Subaru guy was a dangerous fellow.

If Kaito really wanted to enter Kudo residence without arousing suspicion in Subaru's eyes, the teen would need different approach. He could not sneak in as a police officer in charge of Yusaku's case since Subaru probably knew well about police officer in homicide division. After all _Tantei-kun_ often worked with them. He could not disguise himself as Ran, Sonoko, Masumi, or Professor Agasa either because Subaru knew them too well. Besides, Kaito would not disguise himself as Masumi unless he did not have much choice; he really did not want to have her kicked him again. The magician certainly could not sneak in like a thief in the middle of the night too. That would be a stupid idea with police officers and that Subaru guy guarding the house; he could be mistaken as the murderer! And _Tantei-kun_ surely would often come to see his parents. That little brat had figured out his disguise many times before, so Kaito needed to be extra careful.

"So no disguise as Mouris, Suzukis, Professor, or first division's police officers... Hmm... this is troublesome. How can I sneak in then?" Kaito rubbed his chin in deep thought. He really wanted to meet Yusaku Kudo, not just because he wanted to gain some information, but also because Yusaku was a friend of his parents, a man who was his father's rival. He wanted to make sure with his own eyes that Yusaku indeed was fine because he promised his mother to help him, to help the Kudo couple. He wanted to make sure that Kaitou Kid's parent was safe because now that Kaito was fatherless, perhaps Yusaku was the only person he could have as a father figure. Ginzo Nakamori did not count—he was more like his uncle. Jii did not count too because Kaito could only see him as his assistant. But Yusaku was different. He knew Toichi Kuroba. He was Toichi's rival. Yusaku might be the only grown man who could understand Kaito just as much as Toichi could. The young magician was similar to his son after all, not just physically, but mentally too.

Kaito never thought that he would harbor such feelings toward the novelist even though he had never met him and only knew him as his parents' friend recently. The teen smiled softly as he remembered that he too was fond of Kid Killer. Conan was different from any other detective the thief had met, even different from Saguru Hakuba. Hakuba was his rival and maybe one of his best friends while Conan too was his rival, but Kaito never really thought of him as his friend. The shrunken detective was more like... a family, perhaps close to sibling. Kaito was not sure what had made him feel that way toward the Heisei Holmes. Perhaps because they both had another secret identity and a syndicate to expose? Perhaps because they looked alike? Or perhaps because they had similar nickname: Heisei Holmes and Heisei Lupin? Whatever the reason was, Kaito did not really care. He had never cared. Being fond of his rival was not a crime and it felt nice to him.

 _'_ _Still, how can I enter the house without making a fuss? The only option is by disguising, but as who?'_ Kaito thought again. He tapped his index finger on the desk repeatedly, thinking hard. A moment later, suddenly an idea came to his head. ' _That's right! Inspector Nakamori! He must know Yusaku-_ san _quite well since Yusaku-_ san _is Kaitou Kid's first rival. Maybe I can disguise myself as him! That Subaru guy surely doesn't know him that well since Inspector Nakamori isn't from homicide division.'_ Kaito grinned. _'I have to ask Inspector about his life story with Yusaku-_ san _. Right, I can ask_ Kaa-san _too. I'm sure she knows many things about them.'_

Kaito got up from his chair with excitement. He went right away to his neighbor, planning to ask many things about Yusaku Kudo from Ginzo Nakamori. It was almost dinner after all, so his visit to Nakamori residence would not look odd. Besides, Aoko would be happy to have him early in her house and the magician would not have to hear her shouting at him only to invite him for dinner.

Kaito put his Cheshire grin unconsciously when he thought about his plan. Kaitou Kid was going to visit his parent! This was going to be interesting!

TBC

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 **Review please :)**


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Detective Conan, Magic Kaito, and all of the characters belong to Aoyama Gosho, but my OCs are mine.

 **Chapter 6**

 **Kid Meets His Parent**

"My, Inspector Nakamori! It's been a long time!" Yukiko greeted the inspector of division 2 who had come to visit the Kudo couple. "Please come in. I'm sure Yusaku will be happy to see you."

"Thank you, Kudo- _san_ ," the inspector replied politely. He entered the house with Yukiko leading him. Yukiko allowed her guest to sit comfortably on the sofa, and then she walked toward Yusaku's room to inform him about Ginzo's visit. Not long after that, Yusaku Kudo joined his guest, sitting face to face with the inspector and started to chat lightly while his wife prepared tea for them. After delivering two cups of tea for Ginzo and Yusaku, Yukiko sat beside her husband and joined the talk.

"I never thought you would come to visit Yusaku. After all, he rarely have any business with your division," Yukiko said.

"Well, your husband helped me many times in the past, so of course I can't just sit still when he got shot like this," Ginzo replied, then he looked at Yusaku with regret. "I'm sorry I can't visit you when you were still in hospital though. Kid's heist really took my time."

Yusaku laughed. "Don't worry, Inspector, I understand your predicament. He held two heist within a week when I was hospitalized, so of course you were very busy."

"That's right, and he got away again after stealing his targets," Ginzo sighed. "I wonder when I'll be able to capture him, really."

"But I thought you would be happy to see him again after his disappearance years ago?"

"Of course! He's my greatest rival after all. I don't know when I'll be able to catch him, but someday for sure I'll put him in prison!" Ginzo responded passionately, "but enough with that thief. I'm here to see how you're doing, Kudo- _sensei_ ," he quickly changed the topic.

"I'm fine, as you can see," Yusaku answered lightly. "I still have to rest at home for a couple of weeks though, and I need to check up on my health at hospital every once in a week."

"When do you have to check up? And which hospital? Haido or Beika?"

"Every Friday at Haido Hospital," Yusaku answered. "Actually I had hoped to be able to check up in Beika, but since I have the surgery in Haido Hospital and hospitalized there, the doctor insisted I must have medical check up there."

"I see..." Ginzo nodded. "Well, it makes sense to me. After all, the doctor at Haido Hospital is the one who knows your health progress."

"That's true," Yusaku smiled. Suddenly a sound of footsteps was heard in the house, walking toward them. Not long after that, the three people who were sitting in the living room saw a man with glasses, his hands was full of plastic bags.

"Oh, Subaru- _san_ , you're home," Yukiko said. She got up and approached him. "Thank you for your help. I'm sorry I can't go shopping. I really can't leave Yu- _chan_ alone."

"It's alright, Yukiko- _san_ ," Subaru smiled, then he looked at Ginzo in the living room. "Seems you have a guest too. I'm glad I'm the one who went shopping for you."

"Ah, that's right! Subaru- _san_ , this is Inspector Nakamori. Inspector, this is Subaru Okiya," Yukiko introduced the two of them to each other. Ginzo smiled politely and shaked hands with the blond man.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Okiya- _san_. I'm Ginzo Nakamori from TMPD Division 2."

"The pleasure is mine, Inspector. I'm Subaru Okiya, a graduate student in engineering. I currently live here with Kudos," Subaru replied with respect.

"Oh, engineering student? Which university?"

"Tohto University," Subaru answered, "but I'm surprised to see an inspector from division 2 here. I don't know Yusaku- _san_ has an acquaintance there."

"We rarely work together, so of course you wouldn't know," the inspector nodded in understanding, "but we worked together quite often in the past, mainly for chasing after Kaitou Kid."

"Ah, I see..."

"But I have to say the same about you too, Okiya- _san_. It's surprising to know that Kudos live with someone else. Are you their relative?"

"No. Just an acquaintance," Subaru replied.

"His apartment was burned down, so we glady offered him to stay here since our house is big and empty," Yusaku added.

"Oh, is that so... how unfortunate," Ginzo commented. "Ah, but you're lucky to be able to stay here, Okiya- _san_. If I'm not wrong, Kudo- _sensei_ , your neighbor is a professor in engineering too."

"Yes." Yusaku nodded. "He seems to get along well with Professor too, right, Subaru- _san_?"

"Well, we have the same interest," Subaru smiled, then suddenly he looked as if he remembered something. "Ah, I'm sorry for interrupting your conversation. Please excuse me." The blond man bowed politely, then he retired to the kitchen with his plastic bags, leaving the Kudo couple and Ginzo to continue their conversation.

"Say, Inspector, have you met Subaru- _san_ before?" Yusaku asked.

"Huh? Why do you ask that?" Ginzo asked back in bewilderment.

"I heard he had attended Kid's heist, so I wonder if you've met him before."

"Did he really?" Ginzo replied thoughtfully. "Hmm, no, I don't think I've met him before. Does he often attend Kid's heist?"

"No, just once."

"Oh, then perhaps that time I didn't see him."

"I guess so," Yusaku shrugged.

"By the way, Kudo- _sensei_ , about your sniper case, how is it going?" Ginzo changed the topic.

"We're still on investigation," Yusaku answered. "Seems this case is more complicated than we thought, you know, with the probability of assassin being involved."

"I heard Interpol have some ideas about this assassin. Is that true?"

"Yes. They said there are some assassins on the run. From what I've heard about them, those assassins are quite clever to be able to hide well from Interpol," Yusaku rubbed his chin. "Interpol know some of their faces, but there are unknown assassins too, so... well, it's complicated."

"I see... If it's so hard to figure out the assassin, then I guess you intend to capture the one who hired it?"

"That's the best option for now. We capture the hirer first, and after that, I hope we'll be able to figure out the hired one."

"But... uh... you know, it might be possible the assassin will kill the hirer for his or her safety," Ginzo said reluctantly. "If that happens, you will lose the opportunity to capture him or her. We're talking about professional assassin here."

"We've thought about that, so that's why the suspects are strictly monitored by the police," Yusaku replied. "For now they seem to be fine. We have to solve this case quickly if we don't want anymore victims."

"That's certainly true," Ginzo responded. "How about you, Kudo- _sensei_? I mean, the culprit may still want to kill you, so I'm worried about your safety."

"Don't worry, Inspector, you've seen those police officers who guard me. I'm in good hands," Yusaku smiled. "Besides, it has been four days since I got discharged and nothing happened to me until now."

"Well, if you say so..." Ginzo nodded as if he convinced himself. Then he looked at his wristwatch. "I guess I should excuse myself now. I still have works to do."

"Oh, so you come here in your spare time? How kind of you, Inspector. Thank you very much," Yukiko said politely.

"Ah, it's nothing, really. If I don't do this, I'm afraid I will never visit your husband. Works could take up all of my attention," the inspector laughed. "I wish you speedy recovery, Kudo- _sensei_ , and good luck with your case."

"Thank you, Inspector Nakamori," Yusaku smiled.

Ginzo excused himself and went back to his office. Once the inspector had left, Yusaku decided to talk with Subaru in private in his bedroom. He asked if the blond man had met Ginzo before.

"Yes, I have," Subaru answered.

"When?" Yusaku asked again.

"At Kid's heist sometime ago, but I didn't speak with him since I didn't want him to suspect me. To be exact, I kind of avoided him. After all, I was in disguise and I didn't want to be mistaken as Kaitou Kid," Subaru explained. "Is there something wrong with him?"

"Ah, no, I just want to make sure. I remember Conan- _kun_ told me about you attending Kid's heist, so I thought the inspector might know you. He told me that he doesn't know you though, so I asked you to make sure of it," Yusaku explained.

"I see... but why do you have to make sure, Yusaku- _san_?" Subaru asked curiously.

I'm in a situation when I have to be extra careful, Subaru- _san_ , with all of that sniper and assassin things around me," Yusaku answered. "Not to mention you and I know a certain someone who is skilled in disguise and could be considered as an assassin."

"Ah... her," Subaru nodded in agreement. "So, do you think the inspector is her?"

Yusaku shook his head. "No, I don't think so. She shouldn't know well about Inspector Nakamori even if she's a good actress. I doubt her job often involves division 2. Besides, the inspector whom I just met is very much like himself."

"If you say so," Subaru nodded once again. "Well, whatever happens, I'm here to help you, Yusaku- _san_. You can count on me."

"I never doubt you, _Akai-san_ ," Yusaku smiled. "Thank you. I'm really grateful."

Subaru smiled back, then he left Yusaku to help Yukiko cook dinner. Yusaku sighed as he lied himself on his bed. He was relieved to know that the inspector was not Vermouth in disguise, but at the same time, he could not help but feeling anxious. Ever since he thought of Vermouth after Subaru's arrival at home, he felt somewhat uneasy. Even now when he was sure that Ginzo was not Vermouth in disguise, he still felt anxious.

 _'_ _But why did I think of that woman when I met Inspector Nakamori?'_ Yusaku thought, confused. Somehow his instinct made him think that the inspector was someone in disguise, but now Yusaku knew that that was not the case. Ginzo was not Vermouth. Or was he?

In the end, Yusaku was not convinced with his conversation with Subaru. He sighed in frustration. He could only hope that his anxiety was not a bad sign. He never liked feeling anxious in the middle of a case because usually it was not a good sign. It had never been.

~o0o~

"He's fine." Kaito sighed in relief. He had just arrived at his home after visiting Yusaku and Yukiko. The teen smiled softly as he looked at a certain picture of his father, the one which was a door to Kaitou Kid's lair. "He's fine, _Oyaji_... at least for now..."

His conversation with Ginzo and Chikage about Yusaku made him realize how important Yusaku was to his father. Ginzo told him that in the past, Yusaku was the only person who could almost catch Kaitou Kid by deducing the thief's tricks. They were true rival for each other. Chikage said that everytime Yusaku attended Toichi's magic show, the novelist was always able to deduce the trick in the end, no matter how difficult and complicated it was. Yusaku was always able to dismantle Toichi's magic faster than anyone else. Yusaku was one of Toichi's favorite critics, one of his favorite audiences, and Chikage told Kaito that perhaps Yusaku knew that Kaitou Kid was actually Toichi, but for unknown reason, the novelist decided to keep quiet about it. If Yusaku knew about Toichi being the original Kaitou Kid, then there was a high possibility the novelist also knew that Chikage was the Phantom Lady who retired after Kaitou Kid's debut in Paris.

Yusaku and Yukiko were there at Toichi's funeral. They were not there when he died at his magic show, but they were there when people gave the magician their last respect. Kaito was there too, but he was too young to remember, too sad to even notice his surroundings. The Kudo couple was sad too; Yusaku lost his friend and rival while Yukiko lost his teacher, but they were still able to cheer Chikage when she was in grief after losing Toichi.

The death of Toichi also meant the death of the original Kaitou Kid. The phantom thief disappeared from the world until Kaito decided to take the role. Yusaku did not know the true identity of the current Kaitou Kid—or if he had a suspect, he was not sure yet—but he certainly knew that the current Kaitou Kid was not Toichi Kuroba. It was also possible that Yusaku had suspected Kaito as the current Kid since he knew that Toichi was the original Kid and he probably also knew that Chikage was Phantom Lady.

 _"_ _I'm sure Yusaku won't tell anyone even if he figured you out, Kaito, but that doesn't mean you don't have to cover your identity in front of him. It will be best if he doesn't know for sure about you,"_ Chikage advised him that time when they talked about Yusaku.

 _'_ _Yes, it will be best if he doesn't know,'_ Kaito thought, agreed with his mother. Kaitou Kid had reason for his existence—a very dangerous reason for that—and Kaito did not need the novelist to know about it. He did not want to involve innocent people in his dangerous business, especially the Kudos. They were precious to his parents.

Kaito laid down on his bed, smiled softly when he remembered his meeting with Yusaku. The teen could not help but to think that Yusaku was very similar to Conan. They both loved to solve mystery. Both of them were detectives in their own way. They resembled Toichi and Kaito who were both magicians and phantom thiefs.

"Heh, Kudos are pretty interesting," Kaito remarked. _'Well,_ Tantei-kun _, isn't this a bit troublesome? With you chasing after me but your dad never have any intention to hand over Kaitou Kid even though he had figured out his identity?'_ Kaito chuckled _. 'It's a dilemma for me, you know, since I have to take care of you and your family, knowing all of you are special to my parents. Seriously, why should I be fond of you when you always try to catch me and kick me with your soccer ball every time we meet?'_

"Gah, forget it! It's not important," Kaito finally said to himself. _'What's important now is Wolf and the sniper case.'_

The teen had been wondering why the culprit did not try to kill Yusaku even though it had been 4 days after the novelist got discharged from hospital. Was it because of those police officers who guarded him? But for a sniper, that should not be a problem because sniper could kill from a very far distance. Or was it because the sniper had been unable to aim at Yusaku, because Yusaku was rarely out of home and always took precaution so the sniper would not be able to aim his/her rifle at him?

 _'_ _But the sniper still has a chance to kill him. Yusaku-_ san _won't always stay inside his house. Every Friday he has to check up at Haido Hospital. It will be a chance for the sniper,'_ Kaito thought. _'Yusaku-_ san _should already know this._ Tantei-kun _too. I'm sure they'll be very careful. Now, about Wolf...'_ Kaito sighed _. 'I still don't have any useful info about him. If only I can have access to Interpol's data about those assassins... Guess I should watch over Yusaku-_ san _for now.'_

Kaito had decided. He would watch over Yusaku for the time being since his investigation about Wolf had not reached anywhere yet. He did not have any clue about it, so he might as well helped the novelist secretly as her mother had requested him. Perhaps with him watching over Yusaku, the truth about Wolf would appear in front of his eyes. After all, there was a possibility Wolf could be related to the novelist's case.

TBC

* * *

 **That's chapter 6 for you. Please correct me if I made any mistake in English (remember English isn't my native language?) and thank you very much for your time. Oh right, I'll be happy to receive feedback from you, so please review :)**


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Detective Conan and Magic Kaito belong to Aoyama Gosho.

 **Chapter 7**

 **The Fake Inspector**

Conan had just finished his dinner when his mother called his cellphone. The boy quickly retired to his room to answer her secretly. He did not want Kogoro or Ran to hear his conversation with Yukiko as Shinichi. Luckily Ran and Kogoro seemed to be interested in TV show about sweets; the host was Yoko Okino, Kogoro's idol, and Ran loved sweets, so the shrunken detective had no problem in hiding his talks with Yukiko.

"What is it, _Kaa-san_?" Conan answered his phone carefully in a low voice so that Ran and Kogoro would not hear him.

 _"_ _Ah, Shin-_ chan _? Is it alright for me to talk with you right now?"_ his mother asked back.

"Yes. I'm alone now, so what is it?" Conan frowned a little. It seemed Yukiko wanted to talk about something important with him, judging by her question.

 _"_ _Well, we had unexpected guest this afternoon, and since then, Yusaku has been strange,"_ Yukiko replied.

"Who's this guest?" Conan asked curiously.

 _"_ _Inspector Nakamori."_

"Oh, that's indeed unexpected. Does _Tou-san_ know him?"

 _"_ _Yes, they often worked together in the past, usually to catch Kaitou Kid,"_ Yukiko answered.

"I see. So what's wrong about him visiting _Tou-san_? Did _Tou-san_ tell you anything?"

 _"_ _No, but he talked briefly with Subaru-_ san _in his room. I'm not very sure what they were talking about. I asked Subaru-_ san _about it, but he only said that Yusaku asked him if he had met Inspector Nakamori or not. Yusaku told me the same thing too. He told me that he had thought that perhaps Inspector Nakamori and Subaru-_ san _had met each other before since Subaru-_ san _attended Kid's heist once."_

"Oh... and? Have they met before?"

 _"_ _Subaru-_ san _has, but that time he avoided Inspector because he was wearing disguise, so Inspector didn't know him."_

"Did Inspector Nakamori seem to recognize Subaru- _san_?"

 _"_ _No. He seemed otherwise, and that means there's nothing wrong about him, right?"_ Yukiko replied worriedly. _"But, Shin-_ chan _, even so, Yusaku has been different since then. I don't know what's wrong and he doesn't want to tell me either."_

"How different?" Conan asked, he began to feel worried too.

 _"_ _Not much, just—I'm not sure—maybe anxious? He seems uneasy, often in deep thoughts,"_ Yukiko answered. _"Shin-_ chan _, what do you think is happening with him?"_

"Hmm..." Conan thought for a moment. His father talked in private with Subaru about Inspector Nakamori. From what he had heard from his mother, his father had a doubt in Inspector Nakamori, but his conversation with Subaru confirmed him that there was nothing wrong with the inspector. Even so, Yusaku had been acting unusual. Anxious, uneasy.

 _'_ _Does that mean_ Tou-san _still has a doubt in Inspector Nakamori?'_ Conan thought. _'If that's the case, why? It isn't as if Inspector Nakamori could be the culprit. He's far from that actually. So why should he doubt him as if Inspector Nakamori's a suspect?... Wait, a suspect?'_ Conan's eyes widened _._ "Don't tell me _Tou-san_..."

 _"_ _Don't tell you Yusaku what?"_ Conan snapped out of his thoughts when he heard his mother's voice on the other end. _"Shin-_ chan _? Do you realize something?"_

"Yes, _Kaa-san_ , I think... I think _Tou-san_ may have been suspecting Inspector Nakamori," Conan answered in a serious tone.

 _"_ _Huh? But that doesn't make sense! Why would Inspector Nakamori—?"_

"Yes, I know. Inspector Nakamori shouldn't have any reason to be suspected by _Tou-san_ , but it may be possible if _Tou-san_ thinks of him as another person. A person in disguise," Conan replied.

 _"_ _What?"_ Yukiko was shocked. _"You mean that Inspector Nakamori that we've met today is another person in disguise?"_

"Yes. Maybe _Tou-san_ has been thinking about it, that's why he asked Subaru- _san_ about the inspector. Based on their conversation, it seems his doubt is confirmed to be wrong, but _Tou-san_ isn't convinced yet. That's why he's uneasy," Conan explained. " _Kaa-san_ , you have to check if Inspector Nakamori wasn't in his office when he visited you. If possible, you have to ask him whether or not he visited you today, just to make sure."

 _"_ _O-okay, I'll do that,"_ Yukiko responded hastily. _"Thank you, Shin-_ chan _. I'll call you again later."_ And she hung up immediately.

Conan waited for her mother's call anxiously and impatiently. He stayed in his room, deciding not to join Kogoro and Ran who were still watching the TV show in case his mother called him faster than he thought. After minutes of anxiety, finally Yukiko called him.

" _Kaa-san_? How is it?" Conan asked immediately.

 _"_ _Shin-_ chan _, Inspector Nakamori wasn't in office this afternoon..."_ Yukiko replied weakly. That sounded wrong in Conan's ears. Something must be wrong. _"But... Shin-_ chan _..."_

"But?" Conan pressed. _'But what?'_

 _"_ _They said he has been investigating fraud case since noon and never comes back to his office since then... and when I called his home, his daughter said that he hasn't come home, still on his case, she said... so, Shin-_ chan _..."_

"So he couldn't be at our home this afternoon," Conan continued hollowly. "That Inspector Nakamori is a fake."

 _"_ _Yes..."_ Yukiko responded softly.

"What about _Tou-san_?" Conan asked.

 _"_ _Yusaku's been... uneasy, but somehow he seems content,"_ Yukiko replied. _"I guess it's because his suspicion has been proven, but he forbids me to tell the police."_

"He forbids you? Why?" Conan was surprised to hear this. Why would his father forbid his mother to tell the police about the fake inspector? This impostor could be the culprit!

 _"_ _Because he could only think of one person that might visit him in disguise."_

"One person? Ah!" Conan's eyes widened. "You mean her?"

 _"_ _Yes. Sharon,"_ Yukiko agreed. _"Since she's a member of Black Organization, Yusaku's reluctant to tell the police. He said that we couldn't act careless when it came to them."_

"I see, but why would she visit him, _Kaa-san_? Does she have anything to do with _Tou-san_ 's case?'

 _"_ _Well, we don't know for sure. Actually I'm afraid the organization is behind this case, but Yusaku doesn't think so. Remember when you told us that Sharon wouldn't let the organization harm us? He seems to agree with you about that. He said that if the Inspector Nakamori that time is really her, then perhaps she came only to check up on him."_

"What if he's not her?"

 _"_ _I said that too, Shin-_ chan _, but your father's pretty sure with his instinct."_ Yukiko sighed. _"Well, we'll also tell Subaru-_ san _about this, so I guess it will be fine for now. With him on our side, I think we don't have to worry too much."_

"I hope so," Conan mumbled. Really, how could his father be that optimist? Too optimist in his opinion. But Conan had to agree that his father might be right to keep this fake Nakamori from the police. After all, that fake inspector could be Vermouth and Vermouth was a member of Black Organization. When it came to them, no one should act careless. For now, it was enough if an FBI agent like Subaru knew it. If anything happened, the disguised man could do something like informing an undercover agent like Kir or Bourbon.

"But hold on, does she know Inspector Nakamori?" Conan asked after a question suddenly popped in his head.

 _"_ _Sharon? Well, probably."_

"Probably?"

 _"_ _Yes,"_ Yukiko sighed again _. "At first Yusaku had thought that Sharon shouldn't know Inspector Nakamori, but he changed his mind after he remembered her relationship with me."_

"What do you mean?" Conan asked curiously.

 _"_ _Shin-_ chan _, you know that Sharon and I learned disguise technique from the same teacher, right?"_

"Yeah, so?"

 _"_ _Our teacher was Inspector Nakamori's acquaintance. Sometimes I met him when I had a meeting with my teacher, so probably Sharon also has met him."_

"Oh..." Conan was quite surprised. This information was new for him. He had no idea that his mother's teacher actually was an acquaintance of Ginzo Nakamori. "So that's why _Tou-san_ 's pretty confident that the fake inspector is Vermouth."

 _"_ _Yes. Besides, Sharon's well informed and she's a very skilled actress. If she wants, she can pretend to be anyone. Araide-_ sensei _is a good example for that."_

"Well... that's true," Conan replied, agreed with his mother. "But why didn't _Tou-san_ confirm it immediately if he had such suspicion? I don't get it."

 _"_ _He couldn't. He said that he was afraid of being overheard by those officers that guarded him. I have to agree with him on this one. Those officers are scary! I feel like I'm living with a king or a president with them guarding our house like this, and Yusaku couldn't tell me because he didn't want me to get worried. Honestly, Shin-_ chan _, sometimes I don't understand your father. He didn't have to keep such things from me!"_ Yukiko complained.

"Right," Conan laughed nervously, remembering he too had been keeping such similar things from Ran. "So how did you manage to call Inspector Nakamori's office?"

 _"_ _By acting, of course!"_ Yukiko answered cheerfully _. "I told them that I needed a private time with my husband, so here I am with Yusaku, in our bedroom to have a moment of husband and wife. Those police officers certainly won't disturb us!"_

"Oh, I see," Conan facepalmed. If his mother was with his father right now, Conan was sure Yusaku had been hearing their conversation. This was how his mother _punished_ his father, by quipping him with her talks with their son. Conan sighed. He was sure Yusaku felt _very uneasy_ right now.

" _Kaa-san_ , what did _Tou-san_ tell to that impostor? Anything important?" Conan asked again.

 _"_ _Actually, he told him a bit of some important infos. Yusaku told that person about his medical check up on Friday. He also told that person that currently the police were investigating people who could hire an assassin to kill him."_

"Hmm.. indeed, those infos are important enough. I wonder if the impostor actually wanted to gain infos from _Tou-san_ ," Conan responded. " _Kaa-san_ , do you think Vermouth has interest in this case?"

 _"_ _I don't know, Shin-_ chan _. Yusaku isn't sure too. I guess we don't have to worry if the impostor is Sharon, but if the impostor is someone else, I don't know."_

"But _Tou-san_ 's pretty sure the impostor is her."

 _"_ _Yes. Actually, I'm worried the impostor could be someone else, but I guess I'll trust Yusaku this time. He's rarely wrong."_

"I guess you're right," Conan sighed. He knew that his father indeed was rarely wrong. This time, the novelist could be right that the impostor was Vermouth. "Regardless who's the impostor, at least now we know for sure that Inspector Nakamori who came to our house this afternoon is a fake. Someone might be looking for information about _Tou-san_ 's case," the shrunken detective finally concluded.

 _"_ _That's true. We'll have to be more careful,"_ Yukiko replied. _"That's all from me, Shin-_ chan _. Thank you for your help. I'll call you if anything happens. Good night, dear."_

"Night, _Kaa-san_." Conan hung up the call, then he sighed again. Tonight was really something for him. Someone disguised as Ginzo Nakamori and entered his house, talking to his parents. Who was that person? Was that really Vermouth? If that was really her, why would she visit his parents? Conan doubted her motive would be only to check up on Yusaku. After all, there was a high possibility the impostor wanted to obtain information from his parents. If that was the case, why would she try to gain information from them? Was she also involved in Yusaku's case? Did Black Organization have anything to do with Yusaku or with the sniper case?

If that impostor was not Vermouth, then who? Conan only knew a few people who were excellent in disguise: Yukiko, Vermouth, and Kaitou Kid. Yukiko clearly was out of the list. She was there when the fake inspector visited Yusaku. The remaining possible suspect were Vermouth and Kid, but Kid should not have anything to do with Yusaku's case; it was unlikely a murder case had anything to do with a gentleman thief like him, so the only possible suspect based on Conan's knowledge was Vermouth.

Conan was about to accept that the impostor probably truly was Vermouth when suddenly he remembered something.

A man in white under the moonlight, the wind that blew from helicopters blades, the dark scratch, and the faint scent of blood on the rooftop...

Conan froze.

"Kid."

 _'_ _Kid was injured. That was a bullet scratch and someone clearly targeted him,'_ Conan thought quickly. _'If that time a sniper shot him too, he might try to get information by visiting my parents. That fake inspector could be him, but... if that impostor really is him, it means he's involved in the same case, right? It means the same sniper who shot_ Tou-san _also wants to kill him! Dammit, why didn't I realize this sooner?'_

Conan was shocked all of a sudden. He knew—he was sure—that the one who disguised as Ginzo Nakamori and visited his parents was none other than Kaitou Kid. It had to be him! He had every reason to visit Yusaku, unlike Vermouth, no matter how convincing the novelist's deduction about her being the impostor was. Kid could be related to Yusaku's case, he could be a victim too. And knowing the thief hated violence, Conan was sure that Kid would not let the perpetrator ran away so easily. He would not let Yusaku and himself be targeted again. He would try to stop the criminal in his own way, just like what he had done in Memories Egg case and in Gogh's Sunflower case. That was why Kid needed to talk with Yusaku. He needed information if he wanted to stop the sniper. The impostor was not Vermouth, but Kid!

 _'_ _But why didn't he tell me?'_ Conan thought in frustration. _'I have every reason to know if he's related to_ Tou-san _'s case. He knows that Yusaku Kudo is my father. He knows that I know that he got shot. He even asked me to keep quiet about his injury, so why did he keep it from me? He should've told me!'_

Conan paused. He shook his head, realizing he had lost his calmness. He needed to stay calm if he wanted to solve this case, if he wanted to understand the phantom thief's elusive action. He breathed a few times to calm himself, then he started to think again.

 _'_ _Okay, let's assume that Kid indeed is involved in_ Tou-san _'s case as a victim—a target. That will explain the identity of the fake inspector who visited my parents as well as his reason for doing so. But the question is why the hell did he—does he—keep this action from me, knowing I'm indirectly involved too?'_ Conan rubbed his chin in deep thought. Now he had more questions _:_ why would Kid become a target too? What was his relation to Yusaku's case? Kid certainly was not someone who often caught criminals like Yusaku and his Interpol friend. In fact, he was a criminal, wanted by Interpol for years. He could not possibly have friendly relationship with Interpol even though he might have some sort of friendly feelings for Yusaku—after all they were rivals—so if he was really involved in the same sniper case, why? What was it that made him a target of a criminal who targeted Yusaku?

Conan sighed after a moment of silence. The detective could not find the answer to his questions even after minutes of deep thinking. Kaitou Kid was hard to understand, so elusive and mysterious like Pandora's box. Conan knew that whatever Kid was thinking or planning, it would not harm anyone; the thief was a gentleman and seriously hated violence, but the boy did not like it when the phantom thief hid something that greatly involved Yusaku from him. He really wished that he knew what the thief was thinking.

"Seriously, why now, of all times, do you have to play hide and seek with me?" Conan muttered. He knew he was a detective and he was supposed to solve mysteries, including Kaitou Kid's mysterious action, but this time, he was not really excited to it. He was desperate because the game right now was not a game for him. This was about his father's life, about Kid's life, and yet the thief asked him to keep quiet about his little injury as if he did not want to involve him in his problem when actually Conan was already involved. Now the detective could not even tell his parents about Kid's injury and his involvement in the case thanks to the thief's stupid request. Why could not Kid make it easy for both of them?

Conan grunted. He swore to himself that after all of this mess were over, he would kick his soccer ball as hard as he could to a certain phantom thief. Kid deserved that for putting him in the dark.

TBC

* * *

 **What do you think of this chapter? Any comment? Feel free to leave a review. I'll be happy to receive your feedback.**

 **Anyway, thank you for your time, for your support, for your reviews, favs, and follows. Thank you so much! I'll see you again on the next chapter :)**


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Detective Conan, Magic Kaito, and all the characters belong to Aoyama Gosho, but my OCs are mine.

 **Chapter 8**

 **The Third Victim**

Kaito sighed as he munched his bread. As usual, he had breakfast with Nakamoris. The three of them were sitting in Nakamori's dining room, eating their breakfast together. Ginzo was in hurry. Lately he was busy with a fraud case—that was what Kaito had heard from Aoko—and the inspector did not explain it any further. Ginzo quickly finished his breakfast, then he rushed toward the front door. He left Kaito and Aoko after he told them that he might be late for dinner, so they did not have to wait for him.

"Uurgghh..." Kaito grumbled as he laid his head on the table. Aoko looked at him, wondering why her childhood friend grumbled like that.

"What's wrong, Kaito?" she asked.

"Nothing," Kaito replied. Actually, it was not nothing at all. It was something. Yesterday someone called Nakamoris' home when Kaito was having dinner there and Aoko answered it. Later after the phone call ended, Aoko told him that the one who called her home was Yukiko Kudo, the former actress and Yusaku Kudo's wife. That was enough to make Kaito panic deep in his heart. The Kudos had found out! They found out that Ginzo Nakamori who visited them was a fake only in a few hours! Fortunately, Yukiko only asked if Ginzo were at home and explained that she and her husband missed him and if possible, they wanted to talk with him over the phone since the inspector seemed busy lately and could not possibly visit them at Beika.

The problem was if the Kudo couple had found out about the fake inspector, most likely _Tantei-kun_ knew about it too. If _Tantei-kun_ deduced that the fake inspector actually was Kaitou Kid, the boy would certainly connect the thief to his father's sniper case. If that happened, Kaito did not know what he should do if he ever met the detective again.

 _'_ _Great. I'm still not sure whether or not the one who shot me is related to Yusaku-_ san _'s case, but_ Tantei-kun _surely will think that Kaitou Kid indeed is related to his father's case. I'm doomed,'_ Kaito sighed. He really should not take Kudos lightly.

"Seriously, what's wrong with you?" Aoko asked again, hands on her hips. "You've been sighing ever since you came here for breakfast. Aoko knows you've been thinking about something."

"Yeah, I'm thinking about something, but it doesn't concern you," Kaito retorted.

"Then don't act like that in front of me! You keep sighing and just now grumbling in my house. Aoko's worried, you know!" Aoko snapped. "Jeez... _Otou-san_ keeps complaining about his case since yesterday and now you add more gloom in my house."

"Well, sorry for being gloomy," Kaito replied nonchalantly. "By the way, why does your dad keep complaining? Something wrong with his case?"

"It seems so. Apparently this fraud case is more complicated than he thought. He said that the police were always running in circle even though they always had clues," Aoko answered.

"Maybe those clues actually were meant to confuse the police," Kaito commented.

"Aoko thinks so too!" Aoko nodded in agreement. "This fraud criminal is quite sneaky, don't you think? Somehow this person is similar to Kid. No wonder _Otou-san_ 's so busy."

 _'_ _What? You equate me with a fraudster?'_ Kaito thought annoyingly. "Hey, Kaitou Kid is waaay better than a fraud criminal! Do you forget how he exposed the fraud of Ryoma's treasure? Your dad should ask Kid to help him!"

"As if he will accept that arrogant thief's help! No way! _Otou-san_ is way better than that," Aoko retorted. "Actually, he's confident that he will catch that fraudster this time, that's why lately he's very busy. He will catch that criminal for sure!"

"Heh, he always says that about Kid."

"No, this time is different! _Otou-san_ definitely will arrest him!"

"Him?" Kaito blinked a few times. "He knows the culprit?"

"Yes, and he has evidences, that's why Aoko said he would arrest him for sure," Aoko stated.

"Huh, really? Then why does he have to complain?"

" _Otou-san_ 's worried that he will lose him again. Aoko has told you before, that man is sneaky!"

"Heeh?" Kaito raised his eyebrows. "So who's this culprit?"

"Hmm... Aoko can't remember... oh, but he's an owner of a gym. Wonder what's his name again..."

"A gym?" Kaito frowned. Now that Aoko mentioned it, he was sure he had read news about a fraud case in a gym recently, but he could not remember it clearly.

"Yeah, a gym. Uhh... what's his name again? Aoko really can't remember," Aoko mumbled, trying to remember, but finally she gave up. "Oh, who cares about his name? We will know his name for sure when _Otou-san_ has caught him!" She added cheerfully.

"Right, finally that stupid inspector will have his victory," Kaito mocked, resulting in him getting a dangerous glare from Aoko. _'Crap!'_ he thought in panic—now was not the right time to have a mop fight with her! The magician quickly changed the topic, "hey, we should get going if we don't wanna late for school."

"Huh? Oh, you're right!" Aoko looked as if she had just remembered something important. "Let's go, Kaito, school will start in 20 minutes! Jeez... if only you didn't talk too much about _Otou-san_!"

 _'_ _Oi, you're the one who brought up your dad out of nothing!'_ Kaito annoyingly looked at Aoko who was running toward the front door in hurry. When the two of them finally were ready to go, Aoko quickly ran as she pulled Kaito's hand, dragging him to school. The young magician sighed once again. He did not like being dragged like this, but he did not have much choice. If he forced himself to let go of Aoko's dragging, he was afraid they would have another quarrel in the middle of the road and then they would be late for school. He did not like being late for school—he would miss an opportunity to put some pranks before class started! And more importantly, if Aoko was late too, she would be furious and would report it to her father, blaming Kaito for everything. If that happened, Ginzo might scold him and Kaito did not want to face that. There was no way Kaitou Kid got scolded by Inspector Nakamori! So the magician decided to let it go. When they had arrived at school later, he would make Aoko pay for this.

Kaito grinned mischievously. Pranking Aoko at school would be fun for sure even if he would have to face her vicious mop.

~o0o~

It was free period when Kaito found a news about Inspector Nakamori's fraud case. The teen was sitting under the tree at schoolyard, sweeping his fingers on his computer tablet. He was shocked when he read that fraud case news.

Yuudai Arata, the man who was guilty for committing fraud in his own gym, was found dead at his mansion. There was a single shot mark in his head. The police concluded the case as a sniper case.

"What the hell is going on?" Kaito muttered in bewilderment. _'Another sniper case? And why is this fraudster a victim?'_ He suddenly paused as he remembered something.

"Yuudai Arata... I feel like I've heard this name before... Yuudai... Arata... Ah!" Kaito's eyes widened. _'It's him! The owner of Arata Gymnasium!'_

Kaito was sure his memory was not wrong. Yuudai Arata was the owner of Arata Gymnasium, a place where a suspect called Mia Vasquez had been learning _kyudo_ lately. The teen had read many news about him, including him as a suspect of fraud case in his gym recently—that one news that he had failed to remember this morning—but Kaito never thought that this man would become a victim of sniper just when the police finally found him to be guilty.

"Hm? What's this?" Kaito's attention got diverted to another news about Arata and his relationship with his daughter. The news told him that Arata had a gemstone called Aoboshi while his daughter recently received a gemstone called Bellatrix from him. This news made Kaito gape.

"What the heck?!" The teen was shocked. This information was new to him. He knew that Arata had one gemstone, Aoboshi, but he never knew that Arata had two gemstones at the beginning. The teen eagerly read more news about Arata and his gems and finally he knew that Arata never told anyone that he had gemstones. The news stated that according to his family, Arata was obsessed with his gems and that he did not want to lose them. That was why Arata never told anyone about Aoboshi and Bellatrix. He did not want any thief to become interested in his gems. The fact that he had Aoboshi and Bellatrix was leaked recently after the police had suspected him as a fraudster, a condition that made the police investigate his wealth thoroughly. Of course, the truth about those gems did not appear quickly since Arata had given Bellatrix to his daughter before the police completely investigated his wealth, making the police assumed that he only had Aoboshi, thus Kaito never knew that the fraudster actually had two gemstones at the beginning since the news told him that Arata only had one gemstone. Just today the police had found out that the fraudster also had Bellatrix at the beginning because his daughter told them about it after hearing her father's death.

Kaito was silent for a moment, processing every information that he had gathered. Yuudai Arata, the owner of Arata Gymnasium where a suspect called Mia Vasquez had been learning _kyudo_ , the owner of Aoboshi and the former owner of Bellatrix. He seemed suspicious. Now that he had read the truth about Arata's gems, Kaito could be sure that the man actually was one of the people who had multiple gemstones around the time when Kid had his overture show, just like Wolf, and not only that, somehow one of Interpol's suspects was training in his gym. Very suspicious.

 _'_ _Does this mean this man is Wolf and Mia is his minion? But Arata's posture is different from Wolf. Wolf is tall and muscular, but this man is skinny and not that tall,'_ Kaito thought, confused _. 'If he's not Wolf, then who is he? Does he have connection to Yusaku-_ san _and that Interpol official? And Mia... she's supposed to know nothing about Arata since she's only a student. New student. Arata's customer.'_

Kaito paused for a moment when he remembered a certain arrow which previously had a letter attached to it, then he said to himself, "well, even if Mia has nothing to do with Arata, at least maybe that arrow belonged to Arata's gym. I need more info about that man."

Kaito tried to search other news about Yuudai Arata and he was shocked once again when he found out another news about Arata's butler.

Kenji Takenaka, Yuudai's personal butler, had been missing since morning. He was seen the night before, but the next morning, he was gone. He did not check his master's bedroom as usual to deliver a morning tea, resulting in the discovery of Arata's dead body by his maid. The police had been searching for Takenaka. He might be involved in Arata's murder, either as a suspect, witness, or another victim, but Kaito was not shocked because of that news. He was shocked because of Takenaka's photo.

The butler was tall and muscular. His posture was very similar to Wolf. He did not really look like Wolf, but with a mask and wig, Kenji Takenaka could disguise as Wolf. Being a master of disguise himself, Kaito could imagine the butler pretended to be Wolf only with simple disguise.

 _'_ _Don't tell me he's Wolf...'_ Kaito thought in disbelief. If Takenaka was Wolf, then it meant he and Arata were the ones who asked Kaitou Kid to release Black Fox. Not to mention Arata had two gemstones, just like Wolf. Perhaps Arata was the one who wanted Kid to release Black Fox and Takenaka—if he truly was Wolf—was only a mediator between Arata and Kid. If that was the case, then it meant that Arata and Takenaka might be involved in Yusaku's case.

"But what if he's not Wolf?" Kaito asked to himself. "Even if he's not Wolf, he could be the one who murdered Arata. His disappearance is suspicious enough for him to be suspected. If he's the murderer, then maybe he's the one who tried to kill Yusaku- _san_ too—maybe, if Arata's case is truly related to Yusaku- _san_ 's case."

Kaito paused. _'But then again, how come their case can be related? What kind of relationship Yusaku-_ san _and Interpol might have had with this fraudster? And if Takenaka truly is the culprit, why did he kill his own master? If he's not the culprit, why does he disappear? And what about Mia and the arrow? Mia. Arrow. Wolf. Arata's gym. Hmm...'_

Kaito rubbed his chin, thinking. Mia was a pro archer, a _kyudo_ student in Arata's gym. If she was the one who sent the letter to Kid, then it meant Mia was Wolf's accomplice, but then again, Mia just came to Japan this year. She just started to learn _kyudo_. She should not know Arata or Takenaka that well, which meant that if Takenaka was Wolf, it was almost impossible for Mia to be his accomplice since they should not know each other that well. The athlete also could not be considered as the killer. She was at the _dojo_ when Yusaku Kudo got shot. She was in Los Angeles when Victor Wood was murdered in New York. In other words, Mia could not be the killer, but she could be the one who hired assassin. If Mia hired assassin, then it meant she hired assassin to kill Arata too, a man whom she only knew recently. That sounded absurd.

"So that means she's out of the list?" Kaito frowned. "Then the one who shot the arrow wasn't her? If not her, then who? Wolf himself? Or perhaps Arata?" Kaito knew that the owner of the gym also was skilled in _kyudo_ although he only took it as a hobby. It was possible that Arata was the one who shot the arrow to Kid if he was indeed the one who offered his gems to the thief.

Kaito thought about it again for another few minutes, then he groaned in frustration. _'This isn't my area of expertise. I should leave this to_ Tantei-kun _,'_ he thought. _'But this Takenaka could be Wolf and if he's Wolf, then my problem is related to_ Tantei-kun _'s. And what about that sniper who shot me? I'm still not sure if that sniper is related to Wolf or not. What if that sniper actually is related to Snake? I don't want_ Tantei-kun _to get involved with him. What should I do?'_

Kaito sighed. He was aware that Arata's sniper case might be related to Yusaku, especially when Kaito had known that Black Fox was connected to Yusaku. But on the other side, he was not sure if Wolf had anything to do with this case even though the mysterious man clearly was involved in Kaitou Kid's problem. In addition, Kaito did not know yet if the sniper who shot him was related to Yusaku or not. The magician was confused. He was not sure whether or not he should tell the shrunken detective.

"But I've promised _Kaa-san_ to help Yusaku- _san_. If my case is truly related to him, then I should tell him—no, not him but _Tantei-kun_ —as soon as possible. There's another victim already and maybe if I've told them before, this victim didn't have to die," Kaito mumbled, somehow he felt responsible for the death of Yuudai Arata. "But still, I can't let _Tantei-kun_ get involved in my problem, so how can I tell him?"

Kaito paused for a moment. He leaned on the tree and closed his eyes, thinking hard.

"Maybe... maybe I don't have to explain my sniper case to _Tantei-kun_ ," the teen said after a while. _'I can just tell him about the letter from Wolf. I can tell him that I don't know for sure who's the one who shot me, and if he asks me why I keep quiet from him about this... I can tell him that I don't want to drag him if the sniper turns out to have nothing to do with his dad. I can tell him that I have to make sure before I decided to talk to him... wait, but what if he becomes curious in my reason for not wanting him to get dragged if the sniper is unrelated to Yusaku-_ san _? What if he asks me about other person who might want to kill me?'_ Kaito paused, thinking again for a while, then he continued, "I can just tell him that I have my own secret, just like him and his bad guys, but will he accept it? Will he not try to investigate it on his own?"

The young magician sighed once again; seriously, he sighed too much today. _Tantei-kun_ was always curious. He probably would investigate Kid's problem without the thief even knowing. If only Kaito was sure about the sniper who shot him, he did not have to be this troubled. If only he knew whose side the sniper belonged to, Snake or Wolf—

"Huh?" Kaito suddenly realized something. "HUH?!" He gaped with wide eyes. _'I'm so stupid! Stupid Kaito!'_ the teen cursed himself mentally. _'I should've realized it sooner! Oh, stupid Kaito!'_ Kaito had just realized the difference between the sniper and Snake. Snake never used a sniper to kill him. He always confronted him with his subordinates face to face because he wanted the jewel the thief had stolen, but the sniper who shot Kid did not seem to have interest in the jewel; the sniper only wanted to kill him. That meant there was a higher probability that the sniper who shot Kid was not related to Snake. The sniper was probably related to Wolf.

"Yeah, maybe that sniper is Wolf's minion after all," Kaito murmured. "If that's the case, I should lure him or her out so the police will notice him or her, but how? Hmm.. what if I use those gemstones?" The teen frowned, rubbed his chin once again in deep thoughts. _'I told Wolf that I would steal his gemstones. If Wolf is Takenaka and the owner of those gemstones actually is Arata, Arata should know that Kid targeted his gemstones. If I make a heist to steal those gems, maybe that sniper will appear to kill me, right? After all, if that sniper is Arata's subordinate, surely he or she shot me because Arata ordered him or her to kill me—eh?'_ Kaito's eyes suddenly widened as he remembered something. _'But Arata's been killed by a sniper too. Don't tell me this sniper is the one who killed Arata? Wait, doesn't that mean Arata's sniper killed his or her own master?'_

 _'_ _... And Takenaka's been missing... clearly has a chance to be a suspect or victim, so... so it's possible that he's Wolf... And the reason why the sniper killed his or her own master is probably... probably because the police had found out about Arata.'_ Kaito was stunned, quite surprised by his own theory. _'If that's the case, will that sniper come to kill me if I intend to steal those gems? If the sniper who shot me is the same sniper who shot Arata, it means he or she doesn't have any business with Arata anymore, right? Maybe that sniper won't care even if I want to steal Arata's gems...'_

"... No, wait." Kaito paused for a moment, then he continued, "Maybe that sniper knows that Arata or Wolf wants to kill me not only because I targeted their gemstones, but also because I know that they intended to release Black Fox, because I know that they have sniper with them; after all, Wolf told me indirectly when we first met. It can be like that if Takenaka truly is Wolf." Kaito remembered his first meeting with Wolf when the masked man offered him a job to release Black Fox, when the masked man threatened him with his 'friends who watched Kid from afar'. _'And because the sniper knows that Kaitou Kid knows such information, perhaps he or she can't let the thief alive. He or she has to get rid of anyone who knows his or her involvement in this case, including Arata. Including Kid,'_ the teen added in his mind.

"But all of these assumptions are valid only if Takenaka is Wolf and Arata is the one who offers his gems to Kid," Kaito concluded. "Hmm.. I guess I really should make another heist to steal Arata's gems. That way everything will become clearer."

Kaito had decided. He would perform another heist. If he did that, the mysterious sniper probably would appear to kill him. If that sniper did appear, Kaito's theory would be confirmed. He could be sure whether or not his sniper case was related to Yusaku's case. The teen stood up and ran away toward the school gate, deciding to skip class and meet his faithful assistant as soon as possible. Heist would always be more important than school.

TBC

* * *

 **Sorry for the delay. I'm so busy these days and I'm afraid I won't be able to update every week (sorry again, dear readers), but I'll try to update as soon as I can. Thank you very much for your support, for your time, favs, follows, and reviews. I really appreciate it. Thanks!**

 **By the way, _kyudo_ is an art of archery from Japan.**

 **Comments are welcomed, so please review :)**


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Detective Conan, Magic Kaito, and all the characters belong to Aoyama Gosho, but my OCs are mine.

 **Chapter 9**

 **The Assassination of Kaitou Kid**

Conan ruffled his hair in frustration after reading a bunch of news about the recent sniper case. The case became more complicated after the third sniper case with Yuudai Arata as the victim. The police and Interpol had to rearrange the list of suspects because they had to include Arata in their investigation. TMPD Division 2 had to work together with Division 1 after they had failed to capture Arata since he had been dead when they came to his home to arrest him. Yusaku had to go through another questioning session because everybody was curious in his relationship with Arata. The novelist claimed that he had nothing to do with the fraudster and to be exact, he did not even know him until now. Yusaku's statement turned the police into confusion. If they did not even know each other and had nothing to do with each other, then why did Arata die in the hands of sniper, just like Yusaku's Interpol friend? Just like what would happen to Yusaku if he did not survive from the shot? Was their sniper case even related to each other?

Currently the police were investigating Arata's background to find any clues about his murder with Detective Mouri's help, which meant actually they asked help from Conan without them knowing it. Yusaku was also helping them as much as he could. It had been two days since the murder occurred and today was the third day, but so far they did not have significant progress, making the shrunken detective became depressed.

"Is it really that hard?" Ai asked out of nowhere. She had been watching Conan for a while with interest without the detective knowing.

"Yeah, maybe," Conan replied, then sighed. "I can make some assumptions, but without any proof, my assumptions will only be assumptions."

Both of them were in Agasa's house. Conan decided to stay there for a while to think about the case since he was not allowed to go with Kogoro to investigate. He had school today and Kogoro had been gone since morning. Waiting for Kogoro in detective agency was just a waste of time, so the shrunken detective decided to kill time at the professor's house. Here he could discuss the case with Agasa and Haibara, perhaps even with his parents too who lived next door.

"Oh, so you have some assumptions? Mind to tell me, _Tantei-san_?" Ai smirked.

"Not at all," Conan smirked back. "Well, we don't know yet if Arata's case is related to my dad's case or not, so let's assume that their case is related to each other."

"Okay. So?"

"My dad claimed that he has nothing to do with Arata and only knows him recently, so another assumption: Perhaps my dad doesn't know him and doesn't have anything to do with him, but Arata might knew my dad and had something to do with him."

"What is this something that Arata had to do with your dad?"

"Right, that's the question," Conan nodded. "Judging by Division 2's report about Arata, that man clearly is a fraudster and has some accomplices and some of them, by the way, have been arrested by the police recently. Based on that information, I can assume that perhaps Arata had a wider network in criminal's world, which lead us to another possibility: Arata might knew some criminals who were arrested by my dad and his Interpol friend."

"I see," Ai nodded. "Carry on, Kudo- _kun_."

"If he knew some criminals who were linked to my dad and his Interpol friend, it's possible he himself had a grudge against them. It's possible that he's the one who hired assassin to kill my dad," Conan continued.

Ai frowned. "Wait, do you mean the sniper who almost killed your father was hired by Arata?"

"Yeah."

"But—hold on—are you assuming the same sniper killed Arata too?"

"Correct. That's my another assumption. The sniper probably killed him because the police had found out about his crime. The sniper didn't want Arata to reveal his or her involvement in his crime, so he or she had to kill him," Conan explained.

"Huh, Interesting..." Ai commented. "That makes sense, but who's the criminal that Arata might knew, this criminal who was arrested by your dad? And who's this sniper?"

"I don't know yet," Conan replied. "I mean, I seriously don't know who the sniper is, but the criminal that Arata knew perhaps a prisoner on Interpol's list of suspect. If not one of them, at least we know that the criminal was arrested by my dad and his Interpol friend."

Ai was silent for a moment, then she asked again, "what if actually Arata's case isn't related to your father's case?"

"That will be another story, of course," Conan said. "We will know for sure about that if the police have finished their investigation about Arata's connection to Interpol's suspects. I can only depend on their investigation now."

"Speaking of suspect, Arata's butler's still missing, right?"

"Yeah, I heard so," Conan nodded.

"He might be the sniper, don't you think?"

"True, but there's still another possibility too, like he could be another victim. We can't be sure if we haven't found him."

"And what about Mia Vasquez? She's learning _kyudo_ in Arata's gym. Don't you think this is too much for a coincidence?"

"Yeah, but Mia Vasquez isn't the culprit. She couldn't be the sniper. The police have made sure her alibi when Arata was murdered. Judging by the hotel's camera footage, she was still in her hotel that time. Besides, the police did not find any weapon in her room, not even bow or arrows. Also, I don't think Mia- _san_ is the one who hired the sniper since she really has nothing to do with Arata. She only knew him recently when she decided to learn _kyudo_ in his gym."

"What made her choose his gym?"

"I heard from Uncle Kogoro that her reason is because it has many beginners in _kyudo_ and some of her archery friends in America recommended that place to her, so she thought that Arata's gym was a perfect place to start for her."

"Hmm... does that mean Mia Vasquez isn't a suspect anymore? She's free now?"

"No. She's still a suspect until the police clearly have a solid proof for her innocence."

"I see. So I take it that for now you can't do anything but wait for investigation's result?"

"More or less." The shrunken detective sighed once again, then he grabbed a TV remote, deciding to watch the TV to gain some information from there while Ai chose to continue her work in underground lab, leaving the detective alone. Meanwhile, Agasa was busy repairing Mitsuhiko's detective badge on the other side of the house.

Conan sighed when he realized he did not get any useful info from TV. Apparently there was still nothing new from police's investigation. The detective finally decided to watch anything randomly just to refresh his mind and after half an hour watching a documentary film about eagles, he found the latest news.

 _"_ _Today, exactly at 3.10 pm, TMPD Division 2 received Kaitou Kid's heist notice. The phantom thief stated that he would steal one of Yuudai Arata's gemstones, Aoboshi, this Saturday. Inspector Ginzo Nakamori, the one in charge of Kaitou Kid task force, reported it to the media—"_

Conan was stunned.

 _'_ _What?'_

Conan listened to the news intently. He really could not believe it! Kaitou Kid wanted to steal Arata's gem! That Arata who recently was killed by a sniper! The detective could not help but became suspicious of the thief's true intention. The news reported that perhaps Kid wanted to gain advantage by stealing when the police were busy taking care of Arata's case, but somehow Conan felt that there was more than that. Kid might have another intention in this upcoming heist.

 _'_ _If he's truly related to_ Tou-san _'s case, he probably has something else in his mind,'_ Conan thought, then suddenly an idea popped in his head. _'That's right, he's a criminal! He might know something important about Arata. Perhaps this heist is his way to confirm something. But what is it that he wants to confirm?'_

Conan frowned, placed a hand on his chin as usual when he was in deep thoughts. Kid, the elusive phantom thief, once again made him curious. The thief knew about Yusaku's case. The thief got shot in his latest heist, but he asked Conan to keep quiet about it. The thief dared to visit Yusaku and Yukiko under his disguise as Inspector Nakamori. Kaitou Kid certainly knew something else about this case. When Conan thought about him again, the thief was always the one who knew first for everything. In Memories Egg case, Kid was the one who knew first that there was something more about the egg and that was why he stole it. In Gogh's sunflower case, Kid already knew that someone intended to harm Gogh's painting long before Conan knew and that was why the thief acted as if he wanted to steal it. It was highly possible that this time the thief knew something else behind the sniper case, something that Conan did not know yet.

Conan did not know what the thief was planning by performing Aoboshi heist, but his instinct told him that Kid wanted something from this upcoming heist, something other than Aoboshi, and the detective had to know about it. He had to figure it out.

 _'_ _I have to go to this heist. I really have to,'_ Conan thought. Usually he only attended Jirokichi's heist, but this time would be different. Even if Ran and Kogoro would not allow him to go, he would still go. He really had to meet the phantom thief. The shrunken detective stood up and walked toward Agasa with a determined expression.

"Professor, I want to ask your help."

~o0o~

Aoboshi, a blue benitoite gem which belonged to Arata's family, was guarded tightly in Arata's mansion. It was kept in a safe guarded by complex security system added with police security. Tonight, Kid the phantom thief would come to steal the blue star of Arata. People were excited to see the heist. Kid's fans flooded behind the mansion's gate while police officers stayed inside to guard the mansion fervently.

Conan and Agasa were able to get inside Arata's mansion after receiving Inspector Nakamori's permission. It was a good thing to have Kid Killer joined the heist, so the inspector gladly permitted them.

Usually Conan would go to Kid's heist with Ran, Sonoko, and Kogoro, but tonight he was accompanied by Agasa because as he had predicted, Ran and Kogoro did not allow him; the heist would occur at a district quite far from Beika, Jirokichi would not be there to assure the safety of the heist, and the most important thing of all: the sniper who killed Arata might still be around there. Even Sonoko was forbidden to go to the heist by her parents exactly because of the same reason, but Conan was determined to go and that was why he asked Agasa's help to accompany him to the heist. He too asked his mother to accompany Ai while Agasa was out of home with him.

Conan lied to Ran. He told her that he was going to spend the night in Agasa's house since tomorrow was Sunday, but the truth was the bespectacled boy was going to Agasa's house to attend Kid's heist with him. Conan did not really care if Ran found out about his lie. What was important to him right now was to meet the phantom thief.

"I wonder why Kid only wants to steal Aoboshi," Agasa said when he and Conan were inside Arata's mansion. "I mean, Arata has another jewel, doesn't he?"

"Yes. Bellatrix," Conan nodded, "but Bellatrix was moved outside Tokyo recently. Arata gave it to his daughter."

"Oh,you mean his daughter lives outside Tokyo? Then before his death, Bellatrix was already outside Tokyo?"

"Yeah."

Suddenly Conan shuddered. He looked at his surroundings warily. He could sense Kid's presence here, inside the mansion. The thief had managed to enter the mansion and it meant he was in disguise right now.

"What is it, Shinichi?" Agasa asked worriedly.

"He's here," Conan replied, then he rushed toward Aoboshi's room. He could see everything was still under control there. The safe was still locked with the gem inside. Nothing had happened there, at least until now.

"Shinichi, you shouldn't always run like that," Agasa breathed heavily when he finally was able to catch up with Conan. The shrunken detective did not reply. His mind was bothered by something else. True, he wanted to stop the thief from stealing the gem, but that was not all. He wanted to know the thief's true intention in this heist.

 _'_ _What is he thinking?'_ Conan thought suspiciously, and then suddenly darkness surrounded the mansion.

"B-blackout?" Agasa stammered in panic. Conan hurriedly turned on his wristwatch flashlight and rushed inside the safe room only to find the thief grinned with Aoboshi in his hand. Not long after that, the emergency lamp was on and Inspector Nakamori and his subordinates arrived to corner Kid.

"Kid! You're not going anywhere!" the inspector shouted.

"You really underestimate me, Inspector," Kid smirked. "This kind of easy safe won't be able to stop me, you know, and your security system is pretty weak. I only have to put a blackout to stop it!"

"You damned thief...!" Ginzo cursed under his breath. "You guys! Catch him!"

Soon police officers filled the room, but Conan stayed outside. He did not want to get tangled in such situation which could suffocate him. Besides, Kid would only disguise himself at this rate. The detective needed to think fast. Where would the thief go after this?

 _'_ _Usually he'll go to the rooftop,_ ' Conan thought. _'But he may not go to the rooftop if he decides to get out first before he checks the gem. His fans are outside waiting for him though, so it's possible he'll go to the rooftop just to show himself to them.'_

Conan snapped out when he heard noises from the jewel's room. It seemed the phantom thief was able to mingle with the crowd and get out of the room.

"Heh, he won't be able to escape," Ginzo said after the ruckus in Aoboshi's room had ended. The inspector surprisingly looked enthusiastic. "There are only police officers inside this mansion and they aren't allowed to go outside. Kid doesn't have much choice here! We will rip that mask of him for sure!"

"Eh?" Conan was perplexed. "But Inspector, he may be able to escape from the rooftop, right? He can fly with his hang glider."

"That's true, but the rooftop is also guarded by police officers and helicopters, so no, he can't," Ginzo replied.

 _'_ _Huh, so the rooftop isn't an option for him,'_ the boy thought again, ' _which means he probably will get out in disguise, but Inspector said that no one would be allowed to go outside. He may wait until the police have left, but it will take time. He should fly if he wants to get out quickly. If he has to fly but can't from the rooftop, then... from balcony!'_

Conan rushed toward every balconies in Arata's mansion, his eyes were searching for Kid, but he could not find the thief even though he had been looking for him in every balconies.

 _'_ _Am I wrong?'_ he thought as he caught his breath. _'Where is he?'_

"Hey, why the power hasn't returned yet?!" Conan suddenly heard Ginzo yelling to one of his subordinates. The detective was stunned.

 _'_ _That's true, it's been too long since the blackout started,'_ he thought, then suddenly he realized something. "Wait, that time, the safe was closed..." Conan's eyes widened in horror. "No... Don't tell me he..."

The bespectacled boy ran as fast as he could toward the jewel's room, catching Nakamori's attention. When the Kid Killer suddenly acted like that, there was no doubt he had figured out something about the phantom thief.

"Conan- _kun_! What's wrong?" the inspector asked as he followed Conan.

"Kid hasn't stolen it!" Conan answered frantically. "He shouldn't be able to open the safe that fast. That jewel he held—it was a fake! It was just a trick to keep the police busy searching for him outside Aoboshi's room. He's stealing it now!"

"What?!" Ginzo was shocked, then he immediately ordered some of his men to follow him to the jewel's room. The boy and the police ran together in desperation, hoping to get to Aoboshi before the thief managed to steal it, but when they arrived inside the jewel's room, they were already late. The safe was opened with a Kid's card laying there. The blue star of Arata was nowhere to be seen.

"Damn!" the detective cursed. He took the card before hurriedly told Ginzo to search for the thief in every balconies since Kid most likely would fly from there if he could not fly from the rooftop. After searching again for a while, Conan and the police found the thief in the front balcony, facing his fans outside the gate. The thief just stood still while the police surrounded him. The light from a helicopter shone on him, a replacement for the usual moonlight.

"Kid! Don't move! You are surrounded!" Inspector Nakamori shouted as his subordinates pointed their guns at the thief. Conan watched Kid from behind. He saw his cape fluttered as the wind from helicopter's blades blew it. The thief kept standing still, not even bothered to look at his favorite critic and his beloved inspector.

"Good. Now, put your hands up!" Ginzo ordered, but the thief did not obey him.

"Hey, Kid! Do you hear me? Put your hands up!" Ginzo ordered once again. Meanwhile, Conan looked at the thief warily.

 _'_ _What is he thinking?'_

That was when suddenly Kid collapsed backward and his fans in front of him screamed in horror. Conan and Ginzo suddenly froze as they looked at the collapsed phantom thief.

"Kid!" Conan shouted in horror. He ran toward the thief with Ginzo following him. They checked the body, afraid that something terrible had happened to the thief, but when they found out that the body actually was a dummy, they felt relieved.

"Looks like someone wants to kill him," Ginzo remarked when he found a bullet mark in the dummy's neck. "This is a brutal way to kill for a sniper, I must say."

Conan could not help but to agree with the inspector. Usually people would die in pain if their neck was shot if not became unconscious in the first place. That was why it would be more brutal compared to a shot in head where the victim usually could die instantly, but the boy could understand why the sniper aimed for the neck. It was hard to aim for the head since Kid always wore a hat and a monocle and shooting the thief's chest probably also was not the best choice. After the incident at Red Empress heist, Kid most likely would wear a bulletproof vest to protect himself. Even if he did not wear it, there was still a possibility the sniper would fail to kill him just like he or she had failed to kill Yusaku.

Conan looked intently at the wounded dummy. He could imagine the bullet pierced the throat. If this dummy actually was Kid, the thief would have been dead by now or worst, dying in terrible pain before death finally came to him.

 _'_ _Wait, don't tell me this is his intention from the start? To alert the police that someone is after his life?'_ Conan suddenly thought. _'Then does that mean his heist here—in Arata's mansion—is his way to tell us that his sniper case is related to Arata's, and that Arata's case is related to_ Tou-san _'s?'_

The detective blinked in surprise for a moment after he had discovered the thief's true intention. Finally he stared at Ginzo seriously and said, "Inspector, perhaps this case is related to Yuudai Arata's murder."

"Right, I think so too," Ginzo nodded in agreement.

"Oh, that's right," Conan suddenly remembered something. He took out Kid's card from his pocket and gave it to Ginzo. "I found this in the safe."

"Oh, thank you, Conan- _kun_." Ginzo took the card from Conan's hand with an annoyed face. He stared at it for a while, and after that, Conan noticed that the inspector looked confused.

"What's wrong, Inspector?" the boy asked curiously.

"What does he mean?" Ginzo muttered.

"Huh?"

"Look, Conan- _kun_. What do you think is this?" Ginzo offered the card back to Conan who immediately looked at it. He saw a message that he had not read before since he was in hurry to catch the thief.

 _As promised, I take Aoboshi with me. I've fulfilled half of my promise to our dearest fraudster. Too bad he can't watch my performance!_

"What did he think, writing a message like this? Does he try to act like he can talk with a dead man?" Ginzo grumbled in annoyance.

"No," Conan whispered, stunned by the message. "No, he doesn't. He tells us that he did promise Yuudai Arata. He did promise him when he was alive."

"Wh-what?" Ginzo looked at the boy with wide eyes. "If that's the case, then...!"

Conan nodded as if he had already knew what the inspector was thinking. "Half of his promise, it means he will steal the other Arata's gem: Bellatrix. Also, he clearly tells us that sometime in the past, he made promise to Arata. He promised that he would steal Arata's gemstones."

"But why does he have to tell us something like this?"

"Maybe because his meeting with Arata that time has led him to this dangerous situation," Conan answered. "Maybe somehow he gets involved in Arata's murder because of their meeting in the past."

"Wait—wait—" Ginzo was too shocked with this information. "If he's indeed involved in Arata's murder, then this heist—are you trying to tell me that Kid was using himself as a bait so the police would notice the sniper?"

"It seems so," Conan replied seriously.

"He knows that someone wants to kill him and that's why he planned this heist?!"

Conan nodded.

"That damn crazy thief...!" Ginzo took the card from Conan's hand and with a fiery expression he walked away from the boy. Conan was not concerned with the inspector's sudden anger. His mind was distracted by the phantom thief's puzzling actions. Meanwhile, Ginzo ordered his subordinates to evacuate people from the mansion's area to avoid another sniper case. The police had to be dispatched outside the mansion for that. It was not a simple task since people were in panic after they had seen the phantom thief got shot. In such a chaotic situation, Kid could easily get away by mingling in the crowd, so there was no point in chasing him any further.

 _'_ _So this is it.'_ Conan clenched his hands as he walked side by side with Agasa toward the professor's car. The crowd outside the mansion was not too crowded anymore, providing a larger way for cars to pass. That was why this time Conan and Agasa decided to go home. _'Kid has alerted the police. It means I don't have to keep quiet about his injury anymore,'_ the detective thought. He had decided to tell his parents about the fake inspector and Kid's injury in Red Empress heist, and of course, from now on he should watch the thief's action carefully. Everything that Kaitou Kid might do could be a clue to this case and Conan would not let it escape from his eyes.

TBC

* * *

 **Aoboshi means blue star in English.**

 **Any comment? Don't hesitate to review ;)**


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan and Magic Kaito, but my Ocs are mine.

 **Chapter 10**

 **Reading the Thief**

"That was so horrible!" Sonoko Suzuki put her hands on her cheeks in dramatic fear. "I felt like my heart was stopped when I saw him collapsed after the shot! I really thought that he had died for sure!"

"I was shocked too. To think someone wanted to kill Kaitou Kid like that... that was so unbelievable," Ran Mouri replied in agreement. "But fortunately now we know that the Kid who got shot that time was a dummy, so he's still alive, and the jewel is safe too; I heard he had returned it to Inspector Nakamori this morning."

"Yeah! That sniper really should've known by now that Kid- _sama_ is awesome and clever! He won't die so easily!" Sonoko responded vehemently. "That bastard, how dare you shot my Kid- _sama_...! You'll pay for this!"

The girls were walking side by side on their way to department store. Today was Sunday, so they decided to hang out together. Actually they wanted to invite Masumi too, but since the female detective was busy with her own case, she could not go with them.

"But I was surprised to see that brat there too, Ran. I thought you didn't allow him to come?" Sonoko asked when she remembered a certain bespectacled boy.

"Yeah, he lied to me. He said that he wanted to stay overnight at Professor's house, but the truth is he wanted to go to the heist after all," Ran answered. "When I saw him on TV, I was surprised too. I called Professor's house immediately, but the one who answered was Shinichi's mom. She said Conan- _kun_ went to the heist with Professor. Really, I was so angry. I yelled at him over the phone this morning."

Sonoko laughed. "That brat sure loves Kid's heist! But you did a good job yelling at him, Ran. He really needs a lesson for lying to you."

"You're right. I have to make sure he won't do that again," Ran giggled.

"Speaking of him, what's he doing now?" Sonoko asked again.

"I heard he wants to visit Shinichi's parents," Ran answered.

"Oh? Why?"

"Well, they seem to take interest in yesterday's heist. They want to hear the story from Conan- _kun_."

"Aahh..." Sonoko nodded in understanding. "Of course, yesterday's heist could be related to Shinichi- _kun_ 's dad."

"Yes. This case becomes more complicated, don't you think? At first, it only involved NYPD and Interpol, then it involved TMPD Division 1, and now even Division 2 gets involved in this."

"Yeah, how complicated..." Sonoko sighed. "I hope my Kid- _sama_ will be alright..."

Ran laughed nervously seeing her best friend's attitude. In the end, Kid was the most important issue to her.

"Oh, that's right!" Sonoko's head suddenly jerked. "I heard Kid task force are preparing for another heist, Ran! It was on television this morning. They said it's possible Kid- _sama_ will steal Bellatrix!"

"Ah, I heard that too! But Kid hasn't sent his notice, right?"

"That's true, but don't you think it will be awesome if we can see him again after yesterday's incident?" Sonoko beamed, then suddenly she looked dejected. "Uhh... but my parents probably wouldn't allow me to attend. That sniper might be there to kill Kid- _sama_ after all."

"Well, forget it. Besides, Bellatrix isn't in Tokyo, so of course we can't attend the heist if that really happens," Ran tried to cheer her friend.

"But your 'little brother' probably will be able to attend, right? Since he's Kid Killer," Sonoko grumbled.

"I won't allow him to attend such a dangerous heist!" Ran replied sternly. "I'll watch him carefully. He won't be able to get away this time."

Sonoko laughed. "Yeah! You really shouldn't let him get away! But be careful though, he might deceive you again."

"If he dares to do it..." Ran clenched her fist furiously, "he'll have to face more than just scolding!"

"O-oh... I see..." Sonoko looked at her friends nervously. _'God, that brat's in serious trouble.'_

Meanwhile, a few kilometers from them, the suppossed brat in trouble sneezed out of the blue.

"You have a cold, Shin- _chan_?" Yukiko asked her son worriedly.

"No," Conan replied. "Maybe someone talks about me."

"I wonder who that person is," Yukiko grinned. "Maybe Ran- _chan_? She surely was mad at you this morning."

"Ugh, just forget about that," Conan muttered. He really did not like it when his mother saw him getting scolded by Ran over the phone. Seriously, why did his mother have to appear that time?

"Sure, we'll talk about this later," Yukiko replied teasingly. "After all, you're here to tell us another important things, right?"

"Yeah." Conan looked at his mother annoyingly, then he sighed. "I'll get straight to the point then. It's about yesterday's heist."

"What about that?" Yukiko asked while Yusaku kept silent, only watched his son intently. They were at Yusaku's bedroom to talk in private. Conan had told his parents that today he needed to talk to them about something important related to Aoboshi heist.

"Have you two seen the news? About Kid got shot yesterday."

"Yes, but that was just a dummy," Yukiko answered.

"That's true, but what's important is that Kid also has a sniper looking for his life," Conan said, "and he tells us with his card that he had met Arata in the past. His heist last night was intended to alert the police... and me."

"And you?" Yusaku frowned. "What do you mean, Shin?"

Conan breathed deeply. "The truth is... he also got shot in Red Empress heist. I saw his wound, but he asked me to keep quiet."

"Eh?" Yukiko was surprised. "But he was fine, right? We saw him on TV."

"Yes. Fortunately, the bullet only scratched his arm, but his request that time—asking me to keep quiet—was confusing to me. When _Kaa-san_ told me about the fake Inspector Nakamori, I thought perhaps that wasn't Vermouth. Perhaps that was Kid. I mean, he has every reason to visit you, _Tou-san_. A sniper shot him and maybe that sniper is the same sniper who shot you too."

"I see. So that's why he visited me as Inspector Nakamori. He wanted information about this sniper case from me," Yusaku nodded. "But why didn't you tell us earlier, Shin?"

"Well, he asked me to keep quiet and I couldn't tell anyone since he has done many things for me. But last night he alerted the police, so I take it that it's okay for me if I tell you this now."

"Ah, so you trust him," Yusaku remarked.

"I do, in certain situations," Conan admitted. "Okay, back to the topic. I said that the last night heist was intended to alert me, yes, because he's aware of my identity and who my parents are. He's aware that I found out about his injury that time. Last night heist is his way to confirm my suspicion that Arata's case indeed is related to your case, _Tou-san_. And his last message after he had stolen the gem—he told us that his meeting with Arata in the past made him a sniper's target."

The room was filled with silence for a moment. Yusaku and Yukiko were stunned for this sudden information and Conan decided to keep quiet for a while.

"Okay, so Kid and Arata have met sometime ago and this meeting made him a target of sniper," Yukiko tried to process the information. "And this sniper who shot Arata and Kid could be the same sniper who shot Yusaku and his friend."

"Yeah," Conan nodded once again. "Oh, right, have you seen his message? It was in the news this morning."

"We have," Yusaku answered. "True, his message clearly tells that he and Arata have met in the past. That time Kid made a promise to steal Arata's gemstones and probably that promise is the reason for his attempted assassination last night. And of course, he also told us that he wanted to steal Bellatrix." Yusaku paused for a moment. "No, it's more than a promise, isn't it? He probably knows something from their meeting and this something is the reason why a sniper wants to kill him. Arata was killed right before the police could capture him, so the sniper probably afraid that Arata might tell something important about him or her to the police. Maybe Kid happens to know this important information too."

"I think so too," Conan responded, "but Kid won't be able to tell the police directly since he's their wanted thief, so the only way for him to tell them is by performing heist like yesterday."

"Huh? But yesterday's heist didn't tell us anything about this important information he knows, right?" Yukiko stared at her son, confused.

"Yes, he didn't tell us, but I have a feeling he'll tell us using his own way, or at least he'll guide us to this important information. He's always like that."

"Always?"

"Yeah," Conan smiled. "He did things like that in some cases. maybe _Tou-san_ knows more than me."

"That's right, Shin. He did things like that too in the past," Yusaku replied as he smiled fondly, remembering his past with the phantom thief. "Oh well, now that the police have been alerted, I hope we will have more important clues soon, and if Kid decided to steal Bellatrix, perhaps the sniper will appear too. That thief clearly likes using himself as a bait."

"He always does," Conan smirked in agreement.

"Alright, you two, let's save this Kid's habits and hobbies talk for later because I have a question," Yukiko said, turning Conan's and Yusaku's attention to her. "All this time we talked about bad blood between Arata and Kid and that the sniper who killed Arata probably is the one who shot Yusaku. I'm curious though, if Arata's the one who had a grudge against Kid—because Kid promised to steal his gems—why did the sniper kill him? It would make sense if Arata's alive and hires a sniper to kill Kid, but the fact is Arata's the one who die."

"That's it, Yukiko. Don't you understand?" Yusaku smiled arrogantly. "We suspect that perhaps Arata wanted to kill Kid and hired a sniper to do it since someone shot the thief in Red Empress heist, but when the police found out about Arata's crime, the sniper turned his or her back on him. The sniper killed him because he or she didn't want the police to know about his or her involvement in his crime."

"But unfortunately, Kid knows something important about the sniper and his or her involvement in Arata's crime, so he or she has to kill him too," Conan added.

"Huh? Then does that mean Arata could be the one who hired assassin to kill Yusaku?" Yukiko asked in disbelief.

"It's just a theory for now since we don't have any proof," Conan answered. "Just a possibility, but maybe it's right."

"But—but if that's the case, why did Arata want to kill Yusaku? They didn't even know each other."

"About that, I think he knew someone—a criminal—who had been arrested by Interpol with _Tou-san_ 's help. The police have found some of Arata's accomplices, so there is a possibility he knew some criminals who are in prison now. Perhaps this criminal is one of the prisoners on Interpol's list, perhaps not. I'm not sure."

"And he had a grudge against Yusaku and his friend because of that criminal?"

"Probably."

Yukiko was dumbfounded. She was very shocked with this sudden possibility. A fraudster was a suspect in his husband's case and he might know some prisoners! This fraudster somehow seemed more dangerous than he appeared to be.

"If what Shinichi said is true, then perhaps Kid knows who this criminal is. This knowledge is enough for him to be targeted by a sniper," Yusaku said.

"But I don't get it. Even if Kid knows this criminal, it shouldn't be a problem since the criminal is still in prison now. Why would the sniper insist on killing Kid?" Yukiko asked again.

"Maybe because this criminal knows the sniper, or at least can lead the police to the sniper. But it seems this criminal hasn't tell anyone about the sniper, so maybe the criminal doesn't really know the sniper. If this criminal doesn't know the sniper, at least maybe this criminal knows Arata or Arata's partner in crime. I'm not sure, but the point is, somehow this criminal is related to Arata and the sniper and Kid knows that. He probably can use that knowledge to trap the sniper," Conan explained. "But again, these are just assumptions, theories. We don't have evidences."

"Though I must say these theories are pretty strong," Yusaku commented. "Aoboshi and Bellatrix were in Arata's hand until recently when he decided to give it to his daughter. This sudden decision of him... well, we know that Arata was very fond of his gems that he hid them all this time to avoid thievery, so maybe he separated those gems not only because he didn't want the police to find out that he had two gems, but also because he already knew that Kid wanted to steal it. He had to separate them so the thief wouldn't be able to steal them at once."

"Yes, and to give his sniper more chances to kill Kid when he performed his heist to steal those gems," Conan added. " _Tou-san_ , if I'm not wrong, those gems were separated not long after your incident, so maybe around that time Kid met Arata and promised him that he would steal his gemstones."

"Yes, maybe you're right," Yusaku rubbed his chin. "I wonder why did they meet? How? Where? And why did Kid promise such thing to him? Were they talking about gemstones? Or were they talking about this mysterious imprisoned criminal?"

"Maybe Arata wanted to hire Kid for something?" Yukiko suggested.

"Hire Kid?" Conan blinked. "But for what? Kid isn't a murderer, but a thief. If Arata wanted to hire him, it should be for thievery, right? What did he want to steal?"

"I don't know, but Arata's a fraudster, so it won't be surprising to have him stealing too," Yukiko shrugged.

Conan was silent. His brain was thinking seriously. _'Arata and Kid met after_ Tou-san _'s incident. They talked about something, something that made Kid promised to steal Arata's gemstones. Why did they meet? Because Arata wanted to hire Kid? But for what? Stealing something? What is it that he wanted to steal?'_ the boy thought deeply. _'The meeting certainly didn't go well since Kid made such a promise to him, so if Arata indeed wanted to hire Kid, that thief certainly refused his offer. But Kid didn't finish it only with refusal, did he? Since he promised him to steal his jewels too. So... Kid threatened Arata? Really? He isn't a type to do things like that, is he? And why would he promise to steal the jewels? He should know that such promise can lead him to a worse situation like now.'_

 _'_ _Well, as far as I know, he isn't a type who likes to threaten people—unless his enemy is a serious matter I guess. So maybe Arata is a serious matter to him. Huh? Does that mean he threatened Arata because Arata threatened him?'_ Conan frowned as he thought about the phantom thief. Yukiko looked at him worriedly, but she did not say anything. She knew better than anyone else that her son was in need of concentration right now. Speaking of concentration, it seemed her husband was also in deep thought with a great concentration. Like father like son.

 _'_ _Nah, if Arata wanted to hire Kid, why would he threaten him?'_ Conan continued to think. _'Actually, he should have been nice to Kid if that was the case. He should have prepared an interesting payment for him. Hmm... what would that be? Something interesting for Kid... Right, jewel... Jewel?!'_ Conan's eyes widened all of a sudden. _'Aoboshi and Bellatrix were... payment?'_ Conan was surprised by his own idea, but finally he decided to think based on that idea, the idea that Aoboshi and Bellatrix were payments for Kid.

 _'_ _So Arata offered his gems to Kid as his payment,'_ the boy continued to think, _'but Kid refused his offers, his job. In addition, Kid told him that he would steal those gems. Again, why would he do that? Making such promise that could be dangerous to him. Unless... unless he really had to do that, to make that promise, because he realized that something important was going on. What was going on that time?_ Tou-san _'s case—eh?'_ Conan blinked. _'Don't tell me he already knew about this case ever since that time?!'_

Conan was stunned for a moment, then he mumbled, "that thief... maybe he already knew that time... no. He knew but he wasn't sure."

"Shin- _chan_?" Yukiko called her son. "Something wrong?"

"Uh, no... I just need time to think," Conan answered. _'Right, that time he knew but he wasn't sure, so that's why he had to make that promise to Arata. After all, he would know for sure if he used himself as a bait in heist. His plan worked in Red Empress heist, but that time he asked me to keep quiet. He still wasn't sure? Or he was sure but the only one who know about that shot is himself—and me, of course. He had to make the police realize it too, so that's why he used a dummy for the sniper in the last night heist!'_ Conan grinned as he was beginning to understand the phantom thief's steps, but then he frowned again. He still missed some pieces _._ Why did Arata and Kid meet? If Arata wanted to hire Kid, what kind of job he was offering to him? Why did Kid become aware of Arata's involvement in Yusaku's case? Was it because he knew the imprisoned criminal who might know Arata or the sniper?

Conan thought about those missing pieces for a while, but he still could not get the answers. Finally he sighed, then turned his head to his father.

" _Tou-san_ , I'm—" suddenly Conan stopped. He saw his father giving him a meaningful smile.

"Still missing some pieces, right?" the novelist continued. "Looks like we've reached the same point."

Conan was stunned for a few seconds, then he smiled back at his father.

"Then perhaps you two can explain it to me," Yukiko said. The father and son smiled at each other again before they finally grinned at the former actress.

"Sure, Yukiko."

"But it's going to be long, _Kaa-san_. Prepare yourself."

"I'm always prepared," Yukiko grinned back. "Alright, detectives, you can start now."

And the room was soon filled with Yusaku's and Conan's bright ideas.

TBC

* * *

 **Dear readers, I'm very sorry for the delay. Please forgive meee... I'm very busy with my real life these days (or months?), so I really need to stop writing this story for a while, but I'm back now! I can't promise that I will update the next chapter soon, but I'll do my best! Thank you very much for your patience all this time.**

 **Right, I'm going to respond Lupsss1412's review here since I think maybe many readers also have the same question. It's about Bellatrix. Actually I took that name because it's a name of a star, just like Aoboshi which also means star. I thought since both of them are Arata's jewels, I might as well treat them as siblings, so yeah, they ended up having similar names. Besides, Bellatrix is a beautiful name, don't you agree? ^_^**


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan and Magic Kaito, but my OCs are mine.

 **Chapter 11**

 **Reading the Fraudster**

Kaito sipped his coffee as he read today's newspaper in Nakamori's dining room. As usual, he was there for breakfast. Ginzo had already left for work, leaving him alone with Aoko again in the early morning. The inspector had been very busy lately ever since Arata's murder occurred. Now with the addition of Kaitou Kid's attempted murder which happened recently, no doubt Ginzo was becoming busier. On the other side, the thief himself was quite idle. Kaito decided to take some rest after Aoboshi heist. That dangerous heist had taken almost all of his strength. He and Jii had to monitor places around Arata's mansion for a whole day to make sure if the sniper truly wanted to kill Kid at the heist and to make sure whether or not Snake and his minions would appear that night. Kaito was fortunate that that night Snake and his followers did not seem to come. He was even more fortunate for being able to find the sniper around an hour before the heist was started. Once the thief was sure about the sniper's presence, he and Jii could prepare everything else—the blackout, the card message, the dummy—with more confidence since that time they were already sure that Kid was indeed involved in the sniper case.

Kaito was relieved that everything worked out as he had planned. Aoboshi heist was very important to him. This heist was his way to convey his message to the police and _Tantei-kun_ , a message about him being related to Yusaku's and Arata's case. He was pretty sure that they had understood his message, therefore he would leave the case in their hands for a while, but that did not mean that he would totally leave it. Kaito still watched the case's development. He often read news about it and discussed it with Ginzo, Jii, or Chikage, even with Aoko sometimes. The teenage girl was not really interested in the case, but she was well informed in it since her father was working on it. Not to mention Aoko was a genius girl for her age, able to respond such a delicate topic with her bright ideas from her own perspectives, so Kaito found himself quite comfortable in discussing the case with her.

"Hmm... Interpol have finished their investigation regarding Arata's connection to suspects and prisoners on the list. They seem to find nothing from them," Kaito murmured, reading the news on the newspaper. "And what's this? Oh, TMPD have started to investigate Arata's employees."

"Yeah. Actually, it has been going on since yesterday. _Otou-san_ said that they wanted to investigate Arata's crime further. He said that the fraudster probably had done something more serious than a mere fraud," Aoko responded as she cut a piece of her fried egg.

"Something more than a fraud?"

"Yup. Something bigger than that," Aoko nodded, then she lowered her voice, "you know, Kaito, _Otou-san_ said that perhaps Arata was the one who hired assassin to kill Yusaku Kudo and Victor Wood."

"Eh?" Kaito blinked. He was actually happy that the inspector finally noticed this possibility, but still, he was curious as to how the inspector could make such deduction. "Where did this come from?"

"You remember our talk the day before yesterday? About the possibility that the sniper who shot Kid and Arata could be the same sniper who shot Yusaku Kudo?"

"Yeah. What about that?"

"TMPD really take it seriously. They act based on that presumption, so they investigated Arata deeper to ensure it, and you know what they had found out?"

"What?"

"More crimes!" Aoko exclaimed. "More frauds, more accomplices. Recently the police found him to be guilty in a smuggling case too."

"I already know that," Kaito snorted. He knew that the police had found another crimes committed by Arata. He knew that Arata had another business other than a gymnasium for multiple sports and some martial arts. He could explain easily to anyone that in fact Arata also owned an apartment, a mall, and a restaurant, and that that man turned out to be a fraudster in all of his business, not only in his own gym. Kaito also knew that Arata was involved in illegal business such as smuggling illegal drugs.

"Oh, but you don't know that actually there is a suspect who knows Arata, do you?" Aoko smirked.

"Huh? Really?" Kaito looked at his childhood friend in disbelief. He just thought that Interpol had not found anything important.

"Yeah. A suspect called Mia... what's her surname again?" Aoko frowned, then she shrugged. "Well, the point is that suspect called Mia visits Arata's gym for _kyudo_ training this year. She knows Arata, but it seems their relationship is only to the extent of customer and owner relationship. And you know? She was in Tokyo, scheduled to have a training there for two months when Yusaku Kudo got shot."

"Yeah, yeah, I already know that, but she was practising when Yusaku Kudo got shot and she has witnesses: her instructor and some students. She can't be the sniper," Kaito waved his hand uncaringly. Seriously, he almost thought that there was really a suspect who knew Arata. Perhaps Mia knew Arata, but the athlete only knew a little about him. They hardly knew each other.

"Heeh.. so you already know," Aoko raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Of course, she can't be the sniper. Aoko doubt she's the hirer too since she doesn't know Arata that much."

"Yeah, although I wonder why she has to learn _kyudo_ in Tokyo. There are many _kyudo dojos_ in America too," Kaito said.

"Mia- _san_ loves archery and _kyudo_ is archery too, and the best place to learn Japanese martial arts is Japan, of course. That must be her reason to learn in Tokyo," Aoko responded. "Besides, her instructor, Lily Mizushima- _san_ , is a very skilled _kyudoka_. Not to mention she is fluent in English since she stayed in America for a few years. Maybe that's why Mia- _san_ wanted to learn from her."

"Her instructor once stayed in America? Why?"

"Aoko heard that she grew up there. She's half although she doesn't know her parents. They said she grew up in an orphanage ever since she was a newborn baby, not knowing her parents or her family."

"So her instructor is a half, huh..." Kaito mused. He did not know such info before. This was new for him. "So? Why did you bring Mia- _san_ up? I seriously doubt she's the assassin."

"Yes, yes, but that's not what Aoko wants to talk about," Aoko shook her head. "Aoko wants to talk about Arata. When the police ransacked Arata's house on the day he was killed, they found out that Arata has a license for owning rifle and gun, but they only found a gun without rifle. And then they found out that the bullet which killed him actually matched with his rifle. Recently the police also noticed that the bullet which pierced through Kid's dummy is a bullet that matched Arata's rifle license."

"Huh? Seriously?" Kaito's eyes widened.

"Yes, but all of his bodyguards stated that Arata never used a rifle even though he has a license for owning it. The police also couldn't find the rifle among Arata's bodyguards and servants; the rifle isn't in his mansion. That's why at first the police dismissed it, thinking that maybe Arata indeed didn't have a rifle and the bullet that killed him which matched his rifle license was just a coincidence—after all, many hunters could have the same rifle and bullets—but after they found the bullet which pierced Kid's dummy, they changed their mind," Aoko explained.

"Why?"

"Because of Kid's message. _Otou-san_ said that Kid's message actually told the police that he's also involved in Arata's case. Aoboshi heist was his way to tell the police about it. His attempted murder that night confirmed his message. The sniper also wanted to kill him. That's why the police decided to investigate the bullet further."

"I see... but why would he need a rifle license if he never used it?"

"He used it, actually, many years ago. He often went for hunting, but not anymore."

"Why not?"

"Aoko heard that he had problem with his eyes."

"Then how come the police couldn't find his rifle?"

"That's the question, Kaito. Arata's servants said that Arata gave his rifle to his butler. He asked the butler to get rid of it around 2 years ago."

"What do you mean by 'get rid of it'?"

"No one knows for sure. The servants assumed the butler had sold it, but if we think about it again, it doesn't have to mean that way, right?"

"Yeah. It could also mean that he gave the rifle to someone else," Kaito answered. "Maybe he gave the rifle to the sniper, is that what you think, Aoko?"

"Bingo!" Aoko smirked. "The police also thought about that and since they couldn't find the rifle in Arata's mansion, they decided to search for it by investigating Arata's employees."

"I see. If the butler actually gave the rifle to the sniper, then maybe he and Arata knew the sniper quite well. If that's the case, maybe the sniper is one of Arata's employees. It's more likely that the sniper was Arata's accomplice before he or she decided to kill him. If the police find the rifle among Arata's employees, then perhaps their suspicion about Arata hired the sniper to kill Yusaku Kudo and his Interpol friend is right after all and if they can't find the rifle, perhaps at least they can find another Arata's accomplices," Kaito fully understood now where this conversation was headed. "But hey, why did Arata need to kill Yusaku Kudo and Victor Wood? As far as I know, they don't even know each other."

"Ah, about that... this is only presumption, Kaito, and it's a secret..." Aoko whispered, " _Otou-san_ said that perhaps Arata had a grudge against them about a criminal or some criminals who were arrested by them."

"Huh?" Kaito blinked again. "Are you implying that Arata knew some prisoners?"

"Well, that's what _Otou-san_ told me," Aoko shrugged. "But it's probably true if Arata truly committed more dangerous crimes."

"Strange... I haven't heard anything about all of this... The rifle, the bullet, the prisoners... It has always been fraud after fraud these days and smuggling recently," Kaito murmured.

"It should be on the news anytime now since the police only got those revelations recently," Aoko said cheerfully. " _Otou-san_ was happy when he told me those news yesterday, you know. He said that it was a big step, big development. Maybe this case will end soon."

"I hope so," Kaito responded uninterestedly. He was not really sure the case would end soon. Usually it would take a long time for the police to figure out things as complicated as Arata. Kaito was not sure if they would be able to find out about Wolf or Black Fox. Besides, it seemed that the police had not found Takenaka yet. It had been many days since he disappeared from Arata's mansion. That butler certainly had something important related to Arata. He could be an important clue to this case.

 _'_ _But maybe it will end sooner than I expected with_ Tantei-kun _'s help. Who knows?'_ Kaito added in his mind. He suspected that those police's brilliant presumptions actually were Conan's presumptions—Conan's deductions—which led the police to the revelations that Aoko had just talked about. It was very certain Yusaku helped the police too. Perhaps this big development that Ginzo had told Aoko yesterday actually happened thanks to the Kudos' ideas. Kaito seriously doubted that TMPD could act this swift without Conan's or Yusaku's help.

Kaito spent the rest of the day thinking about the sniper case. He thought about it everywhere: school, Aoko's home, Jii's parlor, and his home. Based on Aoko's story, the police had suspected that Arata had a link with some criminals, that the fraudster knew some prisoners. It was not far from what kaito had suspected. He suspected that Arata knew Wolf and Black Fox. No, he was certain. Aoboshi heist had made him sure. After all, who did want to kill Kid aside from Snake and Wolf? He had made sure that Snake and his followers were not there at Aoboshi heist, so the only one who could shot him—or rather shot his dummy—was Wolf or his minion. He even had seen the sniper through his dove's camera. Moreover, Aoko told him that Arata had given his rifle to Takenaka and perhaps Takenaka gave it to someone else, most likely the sniper, leading to a possibility that Takenaka knew the sniper. Added with the fact that Black Fox was arrested with Yusaku's and Victor's help and Wolf asked Kid to release the smuggler, now the thief was sure that the sniper was related to Arata and Wolf. Now he was sure that Arata was the one who offered his gemstones using Wolf as the mediator. He was sure that Takenaka actually was Wolf, but what he was not sure yet was the sniper. The sniper could be Wolf or someone else. And what about Wolf? Kaito was not sure if the muscular man was still alive or not. The teen also did not know yet the reason why Arata and Wolf wanted Kid to release Black Fox. The answer to that question was very important to him.

"Now that I think about it again, Arata was already a suspect of fraud case when Wolf asked Kid to release Black Fox," Kaito mumbled as he laid down on his bed. Why would Arata want to release Black Fox when he himself almost got caught? Could Black Fox assure his safety from prison if he was released? What could Eric Wu do for him? The smuggler was nowhere near a wealthy person anymore now after he got arrested. Kaito had heard that the authorities confiscated his wealth. Without wealth, he was weak. He should not have any power. There should not be anyone who wanted to follow him, not anymore. He was useless even if he was free from jail, so why did Arata and Wolf want him to be released?

"Slander?" Kaito blinked. _'Really? Arata wanted to put the blame on him?'_

After another thought, Kaito dismissed that idea. The smuggler could easily tell the police the truth, the truth that someone released him from prison, the truth that he did not do anything that Arata claimed he did. Besides, there was another possibility that Kid might tell the police the truth. maybe, if the thief was still alive and able to talk.

"Huh? Does that mean he would kill me after I released Black Fox?" Kaito frowned. "Does that mean those payments he offered to me actually were only a bluff, because I would have died before I have it?" Kaito knew that it was possible Arata had planned to kill Kid since the beginning. After all, the fraudster seemed to have a strong attachment to his gemstones which he used as a payment if Kid accepted the job to release Black Fox. Arata even tried to hide Aoboshi and Bellatrix from the police by giving Bellatrix to his daughter—this decision also could save the jewels from being stolen by Kid at the same time—so the probability of him wanting to kill Kid after the thief managed to release Black Fox was quite high, although Kaito wondered how in the world Arata would be able to do that, to kill Kid. He might be able to kill Kid using a sniper, but surely he should have known how elusive, how sneaky, and how clever the thief was that even after all these years of stealing, the police had not been able to capture him, not even once. Arata should not take the thief lightly. A criminal like him should be able to think far ahead. What if he failed to kill Kid? The risk was too great for him. Not only he would not be able to escape from the police, he would be charged for trying to release a criminal, for his attempt to murder Kid, and of course, for his act of slander toward Eric Wu. Kaito did not think Arata would be so unwise like that, considering he was able to commit fraud over the years.

"Nah, that can't be the case, though it may be possible if Arata was quite depressed and couldn't find any other choice to save his life from prison." After a moment, Kaito decided to ignore his thought about the possibility of Arata wanting to kill Kid after the thief had released Black Fox. There was something else that he should think, like what exactly was Arata's reason for wanting to release Black Fox.

 _'_ _If it isn't slander, then what? It can't be because Arata was fond of him, right? Very impossible. He should have been desperate that time because the police were trailing him, he almost got caught, he was a suspect! Eric Wu must have important meaning for him,'_ Kaito thought. _'Something important that Arata was so desperate to have... or to guard, perhaps? And Eric Wu has it. Is it their secret? Secret that could be dangerous, maybe? Arata's position was already in danger that time, so what if that secret was leaked? Obviously he would be in a very bad situation. To prevent that, the secret must remain secret. Eric Wu should never talk about it to anyone. Arata has to... shut his mouth.'_

Kaito froze.

"He had to kill him," the magician mumbled in surprise. "He wanted to kill him! Black Fox should be out of prison if he wanted to kill him! That's why he asked Kid to release him!"

Kaito was shocked with this sudden realization. He did not know what to do. He just laid there, on his bed, with his eyes staring at the ceiling. For a few minutes, he only stayed there, not making any movement until suddenly he got up when he remembered something.

"That sniper won't kill him, right? Black Fox is still in prison, so he or she shouldn't be able to kill him," he said worriedly. _'But what if that sniper actually is able to kill him?'_ Suddenly Kaito felt anxious. _'Eric Wu may have something important about Arata. Perhaps about the sniper too. He's important. He can't die yet. What should I do?'_

Kaito really hoped that the sniper would be arrested soon. He really hoped that the police and _Tantei-kun_ could gather evidences as many as needed. Kaito would not be able to help much from this point. Even if he knew about Black Fox's involvement in the case, the teen would not be able to ensure the smuggler's safety when he was in a foreign country. Kaito had thought about using himself as a bait once more by performing another heist, perhaps Bellatrix, but recently Arata's daughter was depressed. She was constantly under pressure of authorities. Kaito did not want to add her problem by performing another dangerous heist to trap the sniper. The truth was he himself sent her a bouquet of flowers with Kid's card in it, telling her that he wished her well and that he would not steal Bellatrix until everything had been calmed. Maybe the news would report it tomorrow since he sent it just this evening—actually, Jii was the one who sent it. Kaito only prepared it.

Kaito sighed. He really could only rely on the authorities.

 _'_ _Maybe I'm tired. I'm too worried. Eric Wu is still in prison, guarded by police officers, so there's no way the sniper can kill him. Even Wolf asked Kid to release him before he intended to kill him, right? Yeah, I'm thinking too much,'_ Kaito thought as he smiled weakly. He laid back on his bed, drew a deep breath to calm himself. For now, the teen decided to forget about Black Fox. He would trust the authorities.

Kaito closed his eyes tiredly, thinking that maybe right now was a good time to sleep. In the end, the teen really decided to sleep. He was too tired to think of anything else.

~o0o~

The next day, Kaito still could not get Black Fox out of his mind. It seemed that he could not really trust the authorities after all. His heart and brain kept telling him to do something. Anything. He had to ensure his presumption about Black Fox. He had to be sure whether or not the smuggler was in danger. If he was right about Black Fox, then he had to coax the important information out of him. Kaitou Kid had to do something even if every authorities in the world were against him. It did not matter if the smuggler was under police's protection in prison. Kaito would get that precious information from him. Eventually, the teen became preoccupied with his plans to break through prison security, but his assistant clearly did not like the idea and did not want to support him in such a dangerous and risky mission like that. Kaito was disappointed and decided to complain to his mother about it.

 _"_ _Hahaha...! I never thought you could have such a fantasy, Kaito! Breaking through a prison!"_ Chikage laughed when she heard her son's plan.

" _Kaa-san_! I'm serious here!" Kaito protested while looking at her mother on his laptop. "Besides, even _Oyaji_ haven't done that. This will be the first time Kaitou Kid tries to enter a prison and get out of it!"

 _"_ _Yes—pfftt—yes..."_ Chikage replied, trying her best to stop her laughter. _"But Kaito, Jii's right. This is too dangerous. Too risky. You don't know how tight a prison security can be and you don't have allies except Jii and me. Not to mention America will be very different from Japan. Even if you're good in disguising, you still don't really understand Americans and because of that, you will make mistake."_

"Whaaat? _Kaa-san_! Even you are against me?"

 _"_ _Yes, for this matter,"_ Chikage nodded. _"Why do you want to enter prison, Kaito?"_

"I told you before, didn't I? I have to talk with Black Fox. He may have important information about this sniper case," Kaito answered impatiently.

 _"_ _But it's only your presumption. You don't have any proof."_

"That's why I have to go there. I have to make sure whether or not this smuggler knows Arata."

 _"_ _Think again, Kaito. If he knows Arata, that fraudster should have been in prison right now. Black Fox surely will tell the police about him,"_ Chikage said.

"Why would he tell them if they were partners?"

 _"_ _I thought you said that Arata wanted to kill him?"_ Chikage asked back. _"If that's the case, they didn't seem to be a good partners, did they?"_

"Well... I guess..."

 _"_ _They weren't good partners, so why do you think Black Fox hasn't told the police about Arata?"_

"He... he doesn't know him."

 _"_ _That's it!"_ Chikage nodded once again. _"They might have some sort of relationship in the past, but Black Fox doesn't know that he once had a business with Arata."_

"You mean Arata knows him but he doesn't know Arata?" Kaito frowned. Now that he thought about it again, he remembered the news told him that the police did not find any connection between Arata and suspects and prisoners on Interpol's list. That could only mean one thing. "It means Arata used his mediator or false identity when he worked with Black Fox."

 _"_ _Probably,"_ Chikage agreed.

"If he used his mediator, then perhaps the mediator was Wolf. Perhaps Black Fox knows him," Kaito went on. "If he used false identity, then Black Fox knows his false identity. The police have to figure it out."

 _"_ _That's the only way they will be able to connect Arata to Black Fox,"_ Chikage added.

Kaito was silent for a moment before finally he spoke again, " _Kaa-san_ , the sniper probably wants to kill Black Fox. Not only that, I still don't understand why Arata wanted to kill Victor Wood and Yusaku- _san_ when his aim was actually only Black Fox."

 _"_ _Hmm... what I know is Yusaku and Wood are the ones who arrested Wu. Maybe Arata was afraid of them since they might have deep knowledge about Wu. They won't just sit down if they know that Eric Wu is killed after escaped from prison. I don't know about Wood, but Yusaku is a serious matter for a criminal. He's smart and well connected to the authorities,"_ Chikage answered.

"Huh, so that's probably why Arata wanted to kill them before releasing Black Fox," Kaito mumbled. "But what about the sniper? The sniper may want to kill him."

 _"_ _I think you shouldn't worry about the sniper, Kaito. You know very well that Black Fox is safe inside his prison."_

"Well, I can't help but worry. I can't stay calm if I know that someone wants to kill him."

 _"_ _In other words, you need to ensure his safety?"_

"Yeah, something like that."

 _"_ _Then there's a way,"_ Chikage grinned.

"Really?"

 _"_ _Oh, yes. If I'm not wrong, someone in Interpol's list of suspect is Wu's acquaintance."_

"Yes. Elizabeth Gray," Kaito nodded. "What about her, _Kaa-san_?"

 _"_ _Listen to me, Kaito. The police suspect that Arata may have another bigger crime. They suspect him to be the one who hired sniper to kill Yusaku. They suspect that Arata knows prisoner who is connected to Yusaku and Wood, and if the sniper killed Arata, it is possible that the same sniper wants to kill this prisoner too, just like what you have in mind, Kaito, so my point is the police have to protect this prisoner. They may not know yet who the prisoner is, but at least they can predict that the prisoner could be someone on the list,"_ Chikage explained.

"And Black Fox is one of the prisoners on the list..." Kaito continued, stunned by his mother's idea.

 _"_ _Looks like you understand what I mean,"_ Chikage said.

"Yes," Kaito smiled. "Thanks, _Kaa-san_. You're genius."

 _"_ _Of course. Who do you think I am?"_ the Phantom Lady smirked, then she glanced at a corner of her laptop to look for the time. _"Well, I guess this is the end of our talk. Sorry, Kaito, but I'm almost late for magic show."_

"Yeah, have fun, _Kaa-san_. Bye."

 _"_ _Bye, honey."_

Kaito turned off his laptop with excitement. He could not hold his cheshire grin thinking of his mother's genius idea. The teen had decided. He would tell this idea to Ginzo as soon as he saw him. He really hoped for the prisoners to stay safe and he would make sure that the police would give them that safety.

TBC

* * *

 **Looks like I'm able to update this story sooner than I expected. Heheh...**

 **Review please :)**


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan and Magic Kaito, but my OCs are mine.

 **Chapter 12**

 **SLLS**

Things were progressing. Conan's theories were proven one by one. It was a good thing Kid decided to delay his Bellatrix heist. The police could solely focus on the sniper case, resulting in a rapid progress in the investigation. The more the police investigated Arata, the more they found out the fraudster's crimes, the more they found out evidences to his crime, the more they found out his accomplices. Arata was indeed the one who hired sniper to kill Yusaku Kudo and Victor Wood, as stated by his accomplices. They knew that Arata had a secret sniper, but they never saw this sniper. They did not know anything about the sniper. Meanwhile, Arata's motive of killing was still unclear. Some of his accomplices said that Arata was afraid of Yusaku and Victor and considered them as a threat to his life. The others said that Arata had a grudge against them because of something that had happened in the past.

Arata's connection to a prisoner was proven by a statement of his other accomplice. Arata's dark business had led him to many criminals and some of them were in prison right now. It was unclear who were the prisoners that related to Arata because Arata used many names, many identities when he had business with criminals. They did not know him, but he knew them. The accomplices appeared to not have any knowledge about Arata's false identities. They said that Arata was very cautious when it came to business with criminals. Some of his accomplices also told the police that Arata was often accompanied by his butler, Takenaka. That man also was his trusted assistant and often acted as a mediator in some business. This statement seemed true since Arata's other business partners also said the same about the butler.

Interpol played a big role in tightening the prisoners security. The prisoners on the list were guarded tighter than before after the authorities had found out that the sniper might want to kill those prisoners. There was no doubt Arata had had some connections with some prisoners and if the sniper had killed Arata, there was a possibility that the sniper would kill the prisoners too to ensure his or her safety.

The police continued their investigation about Arata. It had not finished yet. There were still some unsolved mysteries. They still did not know who the sniper was. They did not find Arata's rifle among his employees. They still did not know who Arata's prisoners were, and they had not found Takenaka. The butler was nowhere to be seen, vanished without trace. The only clues were Arata's mansion camera footage that showed him running out of the mansion at night. Even the traffic cameras did not record him. The butler remained a mystery along with the sniper and the prisoners.

Day by day passed, but the mysteries still remained unsolved. Conan did everything he could, but he still could not figure out anything about the remaining mysteries.

"Hmm... seems our detective is cornered," Ai teased the shrunken detective who was sighing in despair. Hearing that, Conan glanced at her in annoyance.

"Why don't you help me instead of teasing me?" he grumbled. The boy leaned back on the sofa, ignoring the latest newspaper which he had been reading before.

"Oh? but what can I do for you, _Tantei-san_? I'm not a detective," Ai responded lightly. She stirred a spoon in her cup of tea, mixing the sugar in it.

"How about making me a cup of coffee?" Conan asked.

"Tsk, I'm not your servant, Kudo- _kun_."

"No, but you're my friend and you just offered me your help."

"Who said that? I was merely asking you what I could do."

"That's all the same, Haibara."

"No. I have no intention to help you."

"Come on, just a cup of coffee."

"Coffee isn't for children, Edogawa- _kun_."

"Haibara!"

Ai grinned in amusement. Teasing the Heisei Holmes sure was fun. "Fine, fine, just this once. Besides, I don't like hearing you sighing and grumbling. So annoying."

Conan smiled. "Thanks, Haibara."

"Don't forget to buy me the latest Fusae wallet."

"Oi!"

"Just kidding."

"You're such a woman," Conan grumbled once again. Ai only smirked in response. The shrunken scientist walked toward the kitchen to prepare a cup of coffee as Conan had requested. A few minutes later, Ai brought the coffee to the detective and was soon sitting beside him, sipping her tea while Conan enjoyed his coffee. They both were in Agasa's house today. They did not have school since today was a national holiday. Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko were busy chatting with Agasa on the other side of the house—something related to _kyudo_ , a topic that interested them recently—and Conan and Ai did not have any interest in it. The detective chose to be busy watching and reading news while the scientist preferred to have her own moment of peace with her fashion magazine and later her tea.

"So how far have you figured it out?" Ai asked.

"About the case? You know already," Conan replied.

"Oh? Then I guess I'm right. You're cornered."

Conan only snorted. He did not like it when Ai mocked him like that, but he could not do anything since she was right.

"Why don't you stop worrying about the case for a while? Consider today as your break, Kudo- _kun_. It's holiday after all," Ai said. "Speaking of holiday, you do remember we'll go to Arata Gymnasium today, don't you? We've planned to visit its _kyudojo_."

"Yeah, I remember. That's why I'm here in the first place," Conan answered. He sighed. He did not like it, not even a bit. The case was more important than visiting a _kyudojo_ to learn _kyudo_ —or play, in this case, since the ones who wanted to go were Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko. The children were captivated by archery after they had heard that an archery athlete was involved in the sniper case as a suspect but recently the police had released her. Mia Vasquez was still learning _kyudo_ in Arata Gymnasium, so they wanted to meet her at least for once as well as to learn _kyudo_ for the first time. It would be a good experience for them, of course, but Conan had already learned _kyudo_ when he was in middle school. He did not too excel in it, but at least he could use the bow and arrows well enough. Besides, he had met Mia before when the police and Kogoro brought him to the _dojo_ to investigate Arata's employees. There was nothing interesting for him, really.

"We'll leave in 30 minutes so we can match with Vasquez- _san_ 's schedule," Ai said again. "Don't be so upset, Kudo- _kun_. _Kyudo_ isn't that bad. It will be fun. Think of it like shooting with a gun. Fun."

Conan laughed flatly. "Do you seriously think that shooting is fun?"

"Yes, even more when I feel depressed or angry," Ai responded calmly.

"Oi, seriously, you can shoot?"

"Of course. What do you expect from an ex-member of Black Organization like me?"

"Haha... I should've known. You shot a gun in our first day of meeting," Conan replied sarcastically.

"True. Well, that was fun, really," Ai smirked.

Conan only shook his head when he saw her smirk. He really should not underestimate that girl even though she did not master any form of martial art. She was a genius scientist; APTX was the proof. She was a good driver, able to drive a car and motorcycle, and now added with her ability to shoot a gun— _'gosh, she was so scary,'_ Conan thought. She was dependable, but scary nonetheless. It seemed that growing up in organization had its merits.

Around 30 minutes later, Agasa and the detective boys went to the _dojo_ by Agasa's car. Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko were excited. How wonderful it would be to meet a professional archery athlete face to face! They should ask for her autograph! They could not wait to learn _kyudo_ too! It would be so cool to be able to master such an art! They would look like heroes!

When they finally arrived at the _dojo_ , Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko happily rushed inside. Ai, Conan, and Agasa were following behind them. _Kyudo dojo_ in Arata Gymnasium was quite big. Many students trained there to become a _kyudoka_. As soon as they entered the _dojo_ , the atmosphere somehow felt tenser due to the students' seriousness.

"Where is Mia- _san_?" Ayumi asked excitedly. She turned her head back and forth to find the athlete.

"Hmm... I wonder where. I haven't seen her," Mitsuhiko responded while looking at his surroundings.

"Oi, you guys, stop rushing around like that! We should be polite," Conan reprimanded the children.

"That's right. This is a _dojo_. Look at those people, they are so serious. We can't disturb their training," Ai added.

The children soon realized their mistake and apologized. Agasa cheered them by saying that they could meet Mia if they asked politely to the people in _dojo_. Not long after that, Agasa was already talking with a male instructor, asking him about Mia. The instructor led them to Mia who appeared to take a break before he excused himself since he still had to teach students. Mia looked happy to see them because suddenly she smiled at them and waved her hand.

"Conan! You bring your friends today!" the athlete greeted in English.

"Yes. We want to learn _kyudo_ too," Conan replied, also in English. Then he introduced his friends and Agasa to her.

"Conan- _kun_ , you already know her?" Mitsuhiko asked.

"Yeah. We met when Uncle Kogoro and the police came here to investigate," Conan answered.

"Hey, can't she talk in Japanese?" Genta asked.

"Of course not! She's a foreigner."

"Then how can we talk to her?" Ayumi asked worriedly.

"Don't worry. Edogawa- _kun_ and I can speak in English. We can translate her for you," Ai answered.

"Really? Then, please tell her that I want her autograph," Mitsuhiko said. He handed Ai a piece of paper and a pen.

"Ah, Ayumi too!" Ayumi added.

"Me too!" Genta exclaimed.

Soon after that, Mia wrote down her autograph for the three children who wanted it so badly, then she asked the detective boys to start training _kyudo_ in a training place which was not used by anyone yet. She told them that she would help them although her _kyudo_ skill was not really good yet. She said that even though she was a pro archery athlete, modern archery actually different from _kyudo_ , so technically she was a beginner in _kyudo_.

Since the bow was too large for children, the detective boys could not practice with it. They could only watch Mia's performance. Mia would show them how to grab the bow and arrow, and then she demonstrated how to shoot arrows. Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko were so excited to see that although they felt a bit disappointed for not being able to practice with their own hands. In the end, the only one who could practice _kyudo_ was Professor Agasa. Mia was in the middle of teaching him when suddenly a woman called her.

"Vasquez- _san_ , what are you doing? Aren't you supposed to take a break? And who are they?" the woman threw her a questioning look.

"Oh, Mizushima- _sensei_ ," Mia grinned sheepishly. "They're Conan and his friends. They want to learn _kyudo_ , so I taught them the basic."

"Conan?" the woman called Mizushima raised her eyebrows, then when she saw the bespectacled boy, she smiled brightly. "Oh, it's you, boy. You're the one who came with Detective Mouri a few days ago, aren't you?"

"Yeah!" Conan nodded childishly. " _Sensei_ is Mia- _san_ 's instructor, right? I saw you that time."

"Yes, my name is Lily Mizushima. Nice to meet you all," the instructor introduced herself to Conan and his friends, then suddenly she grimaced and moved closer to Conan. "Boy, you drank coffee, didn't you?" she asked sharply. Conan was surprised to hear that.

"Ye-yes," he stammered. "H-how did you know?"

"Your breath. I have a sharp nose," the instructor answered proudly. "You know, you shouldn't drink coffee. You're still a kid," she added.

"Uh, okay," Conan replied nervously. Ai giggled beside him, making him glanced irritably at her. That was when suddenly Ayumi squealed in surprise.

" _Sensei_ , you have green eyes! Beautiful!" the little girl praised in awe when she realized that Lily had unusual eyes for Japanese.

"Wow, that's true!" Genta also looked at the instructor in amazement.

"I heard that people who had green eyes were extremely rare. _Sensei_ , you're so lucky!" Mitsuhiko remarked.

"Thank you. I guess I'm indeed lucky," Lily responded with a bright smile, then she turned her attention toward Agasa.

"I suppose you're their guardian, Sir?" she asked the professor.

"Ah, yes. I'm Hiroshi Agasa, their acquaintance," Agasa answered politely.

"Since all of you are already here, why don't I teach you instead of Vasquez- _san_? She's supposed to have a rest now," Lily offered.

"Oh, I see. Then please teach us, Mizushima- _san_ ," Agasa replied nervously, then he looked at Mia. "I'm sorry for interrupting your rest, Vasquez- _san_."

"Oh, no, it's okay. I'm glad I can help you," Mia said, then she looked at her instructor. " _Sensei_ , please let me have a rest here. I want to see you teaching them."

"No problem," Lily agreed. Soon after that, Mia was sitting with the children, watching Lily and Agasa practicing _kyudo_. The instructor was amazing. Her movements were graceful and meaningful. She had a great concentration. Every shot she took were precise. Even Conan was captivated by her performance. She too looked good in teaching. Her explanation was detail yet easy to understand. She was indeed an expert _kyudoka_.

"I wonder which one is easier, _kyudo_ or shooting," Ai said in a low voice when Lily had finished her performance.

"You never tried _kyudo_?" Conan asked, also in a low voice so the other children could not hear him.

"Yeah. Just shooting."

"Hmm... I think shooting is easier. I've learned _kyudo_ , you know, and it pained me. If I have to choose one between them, I will choose shooting," Conan said.

"Oh, so you're not good in _kyudo_. Good to know," Ai smirked.

"What do you mean by that?" Conan retorted in annoyance.

"Nothing. It's just so suprising to know that the great detective of the east actually have weakness."

"You really enjoy mocking me, huh?"

"You just realize it now?"

Conan looked at the girl with annoying look in his face. He was about to say something to her when suddenly Mitsuhiko interrupted.

"What are you two whispering about?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing," Conan replied automatically.

"Really?" Mitsuhiko threw him a doubtful look.

"Well, we were just wondering which one is easier: _kyudo_ or shooting," Ai answered calmly.

" _Kyudo_ or shooting?" Mitsuhiko blinked. "Now that you mention it, I'm curious about that too."

"What makes you curious, Mitsuhiko?" Genta asked.

"Which one is easier between _kyudo_ and shooting."

"Shooting? As in shooting with gun?" Now Ayumi joined the talk.

"Yeah," Mitsuhiko nodded. "Maybe Mizushima- _sensei_ can answer that."

"Then why don't we ask her now?" Ayumi suggested brightly, then without waiting for her friends' reply, she eagerly asked the instructor about the one which was easier between _kyudo_ and shooting.

"Oi, oi, there's no way Mizushima- _sensei_ can answer that, right?" Conan said doubtfully.

"I guess so," Ai agreed, but it turned out that they were wrong. The instructor answered Ayumi confidently, saying that in her opinion, shooting with gun was easier than _kyudo_ or archery in general. Ai and Conan looked at each other in bewilderment and surprise. They never thought that the _kyudoka_ would be able to answer that. She was supposed to have no experience in shooting, or at least that was what they had thought earlier.

"I think when you want to learn to shoot, it's easier if you learn it with firearms," the instructor said. "Your hands will be more stable when you shoot with rifle or gun, for example, because usually we can use something to support our weapon, something like shooting sticks or bipod. We can steady the rifle or gun by sitting or laying down too, so the shot would be more precise."

"What about archery? Why can't it be as easy as shooting?" Mitsuhiko asked.

"Well, archery very much depends on standing position. The bow is so wide that we won't be able to shoot if we sit or lay down. Not to mention we don't have any tools to steady the weapon. Moreover, it's not an easy job to shoot with a bow. The string needs to be under a lot of tension in order to launch a powerful arrow. Your hand needs to be strong for it," Lily explained.

"Heee..." the children, including Ai and Conan, were amazed by Lily's explanation. Such a detail explanation like that coming from a _kyudoka_! Conan and Ai were surprised to know that.

"Mizushima- _sensei_ seems to know many things about firearms!" Conan commented. "I never thought you'll know such things. It's amazing!"

"Ah, I happen to have an acquaintance who works as a hunter, so I know a little about firearms," Lily replied.

"Ooh... I see," Conan nodded, pretending to understand. The truth was he was becoming suspicious of her. A _kyudo_ instructor in Arata's _dojo_ happened to know a hunter and had a knowledge about firearms! This was too much for a coincidence. The detective did not really believe that all of Lily's knowledge were solely due to her relationship with a hunter. Even if that was true, he had to know who was this hunter whom Lily claimed as her acquaintance. Maybe he needed to investigate Lily further.

After another chat with the detective boys, Lily returned to her duty to teach her students, leaving the children and Agasa in Mia's company since the athlete was still taking a break. Conan and Ai told Mia about Lily's knowledge of firearms; the athlete did not know what they were talking about with Lily because she did not understand Japanese, so Conan and Ai took turns in telling her about their talks with the instructor.

"Well, she's incredible, isn't she?" Mia commented in awe. "She has so many knowledge about archery and now you told me that she knows things that related to firearms."

"Yes, she is amazing," Agasa nodded in agreement. "Her concentration was so great when she taught me. She was so focus. As expected of a _kyudoka_."

"She has a trick for it, you know," Mia said. "She teaches all of her students to have great focus like her, including me."

"Oh, there is a trick?" Agasa asked with interest.

"Yes. Actually, I've learned that _kyudo_ also teaches us to clear our mind and sharpen our focus, but Mizushima- _sensei_ has another trick," Mia explained. "She told me to take a break at least every 2 hours to regain my focus. 'Stop whatever you're doing, look at your surroundings, listen to every sound around you, and smell the environment. Take your time to do all of that until you're sure that you've gained your focus.' That's what she said to me."

"Oohh... so that's the trick to have a strong focus!"

"Exactly, but applying it isn't as easy as it sounds. You have to do that in routines until it becomes your habit."

"Maybe I should do that too. It's useful even outside of _kyudo_ , right?"

"Of course! Everyone can apply it in their life. It's useful in every profession," the athlete answered.

"Hmm... that certainly sounds promising," Ai mused. "Maybe I should apply that to my job. What do you think, Edogawa- _ku_ —Edogawa- _kun_?"

Ai stared at the shrunken detective worriedly. Conan just sat still like a statue. His eyes were wide open as if he was shocked by something unbelievable.

"Kudo- _kun_...?" Ai called him in a low voice so that the other children would not hear her. They were quite distracted by the conversation between Agasa and Mia, so it seemed that she did not have to worry too much about them. "Kudo- _kun_ , what's up?"

"Stop, look, listen, smell..." the boy whispered in horror. "Haibara, that's SLLS."

"SLLS?"

"That's a technique used by snipers in army to regain their focus."

"Sniper's technique?" Ai was shocked now. "Wait, you don't mean that Mizushima- _sensei_ is...?"

Conan shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe she learned it from her hunter friend. I'm still not sure, but there's a possibility that she's the one. If not her, then maybe her hunter friend."

"So it means you have to investigate her."

"Yeah."

Not long after that, Agasa and the detective boys decided to go home when Mia's break time was over. Before they went back, they asked the athlete where she stayed at Tokyo; the children wanted to visit her on the next holiday—perhaps next Sunday—and learned more about archery and America from her. They also excused themselves after thanking Mia and Lily for their training and hospitality. Agasa delivered the children to each of their houses before he and Ai went to their own home.

Conan was busy thinking about Lily Mizushima and her knowledge about SLLS and firearms. The detective thought deeply about what he should do to investigate her or rather to make the police decided to investigate her. He even thought about it when he was eating dinner, not really bothered by Ran and Kogoro who were busy quarrelling over TV shows; apparently there was a drama starring Yoko Okino and Kogoro wanted to watch it, but Ran insisted that she wanted to watch a culinary show on the other channel. Conan had just finished his dinner when Agasa called his cellphone. The boy quickly left the room, walking into his bedroom to answer the call.

"Professor, what's up?" he immediately asked.

 _"_ _Oh, Shinichi. I just want to tell you that you received a delivery here. Actually it came before dinner, but I forgot to tell you,"_ the professor answered from the other end.

"Delivery?" Conan frowned. He did not remember to have such a thing; he did not order anything. "What kind of delivery?"

 _"_ _I'm not sure. It's a booklet envelope. Maybe it contains documents."_

"Documents? To Shinichi or Conan?"

 _"_ _Conan. It's written here. It says 'to Conan Edogawa'."_

 _'_ _That's strange. Who wants to give me something like that with Conan's name?'_ The shrunken detective was confused. The last time he received a suspicious delivery with Conan's name, it was an invitation letter from Vermouth, addressed to Shinichi Kudo but the letter actually greeted Conan Edogawa. "Professor, who's the sender?"

 _"_ _It's from Katsuki Doito. Shinichi, do you know that name?"_

Conan froze. He felt so cold all of a sudden. Who was that again?

"Pro-Professor," he stammered, "what's the name again?"

 _"_ _Katsuki Doito."_

Conan leaned against the wall, letting out his breath that he had been holding unconsciously. _'Katsuki Doito... It's really him.'_ The boy calmed himself for a while, and then he said, "Professor, I'm going to your house right now. Wait for me."

Conan hung up immediately, did not wait for the professor to say anything else. He grabbed his skateboard and hurriedly told Ran and Kogoro that he was going to Agasa's house to try another invention. He did not give a chance for Ran and Kogoro to finish their sentences. He did not need anything that would stop him from going to the professor's house. In a matter of seconds, he was already on his way to Beika Town District 2 Block 22, riding his skateboard in full speed.

TBC

* * *

 ** _Kyudojo_ or _kyudo dojo_ is a practice hall for _kyudo_**

 ** _Kyudoka_ is a term used for experts in _kyudo_**

 **Katsuki Doito is... well, of course you already know him, right?**

 **Review please :)**


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: Detective Conan and Magic Kaito belong to Aoyama Gosho, but my OCs are mine.

 **Chapter 13**

 **The Truth**

Around a week before Conan and his friends visited Arata's _dojo_ , Kaito was having dinner at Nakamoris' home. That day, the police had just found out for sure that Arata was the one who hired a sniper to kill Yusaku and his Interpol friend. It was a big news. People talked about it everywhere. Kaito was quite surprised to know that his friends also discussed it in social media. Because of that, his smartphone vibrated too often, annoyed Kaito so much that finally he decided to set it to mute mode.

Ginzo looked tired that night, but at the same time, he looked satisfied. The inspector was happy that the case had reached a very important point. It had not finished, not yet, and he knew it, but at least it had a good progress. Aoko looked happy too seeing his father in such a good mood. Not only that, today she was able to have dinner with her father after so many days the inspector had to skip dinner due to his job to investigate Arata's crimes. That was quite a pleasant dinner. Everyone were in high spirits, full of hope and optimism, and Kaito enjoyed it very much.

"Now that Arata was proven to be the one who hired sniper, what else the police must do, _Otou-san_?" Aoko asked her father in the middle of dinner.

"We still need to investigate his crimes further. Aoko, that man is dangerous. He's a criminal mastermind. Besides, we still have to find the sniper," Ginzo answered.

"Oh, is that so... What about the suspects? It's clear now that the hirer is Arata, so they should be released, right?"

"Yeah. I heard from Megure that they would be released since now we know that Arata is the culprit and none of them could be the sniper."

"But there are some suspects that don't have alibi, if I'm not wrong. What's going to happen to them?" Kaito asked.

"Oh, you mean Elizabeth Gray and Harry Green. It's true that they don't have alibi when the murder of Victor Wood occurred, but they have alibi when Kudo- _sensei_ got shot. Moreover I heard that NYPD didn't find any firearm in their house, so I think it means that they too will be released soon," Ginzo answered.

"If the suspects will be released, then how the police could find the sniper? Do they have different suspect now?"

"We don't have specific suspect for now, but we think we'll find some suspects soon if we keep digging Arata's crime."

"But it's good, right? Those people will be released soon. They don't have to be worried anymore," Aoko said. "Mia- _san_ can practice in peace too. Aoko heard that she had been feeling pressured all this time."

"That's right. I guess they'll be feeling better after the police finally release them," Ginzo agreed.

Kaito did not give any comment. He ate his dinner in silent, thinking. When he returned to his home, he was still thinking. He held the mysterious arrow in his hand, wondering what would happen with the case from now on since the suspects would be released soon. Kaito wondered if the arrow that he held had anything to do with them. After all, that arrow was used to send him a letter from Wolf, who probably was involved in Arata's crime. The potential suspect who might send the arrow, Mia Vasquez, would be released soon, so perhaps she really was innocent in this. Besides, Arata was known to have skill in _kyudo_ , so he could be the one who sent the arrow to Kid.

 _'_ _Does this mean that the sender of the arrow actually is Arata?'_ Kaito thought. He observed the arrow and suddenly he remembered that he had not really checked Arata's _dojo_. He knew that the arrow was a basic arrow which could be used by everyone in Japan, including Arata's _dojo_ , but despite of that, Kaito had not investigated the _dojo_ further. The teen got up and turned on his tablet, searching for Arata Gymnasium's website. He tried to gain information as many as he could from there. He read all about Arata Gymnasium's sports and martial arts, he read about all the training schedules, all the instructors who worked there, especially people in _kyudojo_ , but Kaito did not find anything suspicious. He sighed, then he read his summary about Interpol's suspects. He read those five people one by one, again and again. Somehow his instinct told him that those suspects had a link to the sniper case, like Eric Wu who actually was not even the suspect but involved indirectly in the case or Mia Vasquez who somehow ended up training in Arata's gym. The teen thought deeply, searching for that link between the suspects and the sniper case. He stopped thinking when he realized something.

"Yuriko Adams..." Kaito mumbled, then he turned his eyes to his tablet, looking at the list of instructors in Arata's _kyudojo_. "Lily Mizushima. Yuriko... Lily..." Those names had the same meaning, Kaito knew it. The _kanji_ _yuri_ in Yuriko means lily. Moreover, both of them were half. Yuriko and Lily were Japanese-American.

 _'_ _What a coincidence,'_ Kaito thought. _'Is this really just a coincidence?'_

Unable to contain his curiosity, Kaito searched for any information about Yuriko and Lily. He started to investigate them further. He read any news about Yuriko and her smuggling and suicide case. He read everything that related to Lily Mizushima. Information about Yuriko was quite many on the internet. Kaito finally knew that Yuriko was skilled in archery and firearms. She was a hunter and an instructor in a shooting club in California. She lived with her father in New York before she went to live by herself in California. There she met Harry Green who eventually became her boyfriend. There she decided to commit suicide, jumping of the cliff with her car in a rocky beach. Kaito could have enough information about Yuriko, but he had difficulty in searching for Lily's information. Apparently the instructor did not have any account on social media. The only sources for his information were only Arata Gymnasium's website and All Nippon Kyudo Federation's website and the only information that Kaito could have from those websites were only her biodata—name, date and place of birth, address, phone number, email, her photo—and her rank in _kyudo_. Too few.

"This lady... she doesn't have any social media account? Seriously?" Kaito was surprised to know that there was a person like that today. When he thought about it deeply, somehow this fact was suspicious. Why did she decide to not having any contact in social media except an email? Why did she shut herself from cyberspace activity? It was so unusual, especially for a young instructor like her, but still, even though Kaito thought it was suspicious, he could not do anything. If he wanted to know more about the _kyudoka_ , he should investigate her in a different manner, different approach. He could not just rely on the internet.

 _'_ _I'll think about that later. For now I'll just stick with Yuriko Adams. I need to know more about her too,'_ Kaito finally decided. He kept searching through the internet, digging any information related to Yuriko Adams. He even chatted with some members of Yuriko's shooting club in California, asking them about Yuriko. After many hours of searching, Kaito finally knew more about the smuggler's family. Yuriko's father was an American while her mother was a Japanese from Shimizu family. Yuriko spent half of her youth in Japan, learning _kyudo_ there until her mother died and she had to leave to USA with her father. Yuriko learned shooting in New York when she was in college. He joined a shooting club in her university and not long after she had graduated, she managed to get a license as a hunter and after that she moved to California.

"Now what?" Kaito looked at the information he had in disbelief. "This lady was also skilled in _kyudo_. Why is everybody in this case somehow related to _kyudo_?" Kaito read the information again and suddenly he frowned. "And what's this? Shimizu?" The teen knew very well that Shimizu had a _kanji 'mizu'_ —water—and Mizushima had the same _kanji_ too.

Lily and Yuriko. Mizushima and Shimizu. _Kyudo_.

 _'_ _These things are only coincidences, right?'_ Kaito thought doubtfully _. 'Yes, these are only coincidences. Many people in Japan have Yuriko as their name. Mizushima is quite a popular name too.'_ The teen tried to convince himself, but after a long pause, he failed to believe that all of those things were just coincidences only because of one word: _kyudo._ Both Lily and Yuriko were not strangers in _kyudo_. Actually, they were good at it, and that fact alone was enough to make Kaito curious.

 _'_ _Well, I guess I have to learn more about them. Better safe than sorry.'_ Kaito decided to investigate more about Yuriko and Lily. He searched for more information, paying full attention to many pictures and news he had gotten. After a while, finally Kaito's curiosity turned into suspicion.

He just noticed that both Lily and Yuriko had green eyes, added with their similar dark hair, and that Yuriko's father also had a pair of green eyes.

Green eyes are very rare," Kaito murmured in bewilderment. "This is strange. They can't be siblings, right? Their dark hair is also identical. This is Asian hair, definitely not Yuriko's dad's hair; he has blond hair. And their names—those names have the same meaning! This is getting weird—I'm starting to think that they actually are siblings!"

Kaito was confused. Lily and Yuriko clearly had different faces, they did not resemble one another, except that they had the same eye color and hair: both of them had green eyes and dark hair, so how come their names had the same meaning? How come Lily's surname could have a similar _kanji_ with Yuriko's mother's surname? As if they were related to each other. As if they were families, siblings, but Kaito was not really sure about it because the news in media stated that Yuriko was raised as the only child; she did not have any sibling.

Kaito read Yuriko's and Lily's biodata once again, trying to confirm the possibility about them as siblings. Based on their biodata added with other information, they truly could not be siblings. Yuriko's mother only gave birth to one child. Yuriko's age also was not far from Lily's. Their gap of age was only 5 months with Lily as the younger one—"Oh, and her birthday is at this month! It's near—no no no, that's not important right now. Focus, Kaito, focus!"—Their short gap of age was not the only problem, their place of birth was also a problem. Yuriko was born in Japan while Lily was presumed to be born in USA since people said that she lived in an orphanage at New York ever since she was still a newborn baby.

"So, they can't be siblings." Kaito concluded, but suddenly an idea popped in his head, making him anxious once more. _'Perhaps they can't be siblings, but what about half-siblings?'_

Kaito looked at Lily's and Yuriko's profile once again, and then he started to think hard about them. They had green eyes, just like Yuriko's father's eyes, so the teen assumed that if they were half-siblings, they probably had the same father but different mother. If they were half-siblings with different mother, then that meant Yuriko's father had cheated and judging by Lily's Asian hair, Yuriko's father almost certainly had an affair with an Asian woman when he lived in Japan with Yuriko's mother when Yuriko's mother was pregnant with Yuriko and somehow this other woman—his mistress—left Japan and gave birth in New York. That was possible, but how could a man cheated when his wife was pregnant with his daughter? Unless this man was not happy with his marriage or he was very drunk, Kaito could not have any better answers.

"Well, the point is they are clearly suspicious," Kaito said to himself after thinking a lot about Yuriko and Lily. "Their names, their eyes, their hair, their skill in _kyudo_... if not because of the difference of their faces, I might have thought that they are the same person, like _Tantei-kun_ and _Meitantei_ —wait, what?"

" _Tantei-kun_... face..." Kaito was becoming pale. "Are they actually... actually like him? Like _Tantei-kun_?"

There was no doubt a poison that could make a person shrink into a child form would be considered nonsense by people. No one would believe in it without a solid proof, but changing face was certainly possible and people knew it. They would believe it. Nowadays, human could change their faces if they took plastic surgery. If Yuriko Adams was alive right now, she could change her appearance and her face by taking a plastic surgery. She could change her name and her identity too—Kaito knew very well about fake identity since he was a criminal—and if that indeed happened, then Yuriko could change her identity to become Lily Mizushima. They had similar names, similar skill, same eyes and same hair. They were both Japanese-American. Added with Lily's mysterious life—no link to the cyberspace world other than an email, no accounts, very limited information—It matched! Somehow it matched! Kaito's eyes widened in horror. He could not believe it!

"Yuriko Adams is Lily Mizushima?" Kaito stared at his tablet, looking at Yuriko Adams' photo. He was shocked. He did not even want to believe it. He felt as if a person who should be dead was brought to life again if what he thought was right. Kaito inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly to calm himself, then he took his cellphone. He needed to do something to confirm his suspicion. He called his mother.

 _"_ _Kaito? It's rare for you to call at this time,"_ Chikage responded. _"It's night in Tokyo, right? Why are you calling me? You can't sleep?"_

"No, the thing is... well... _Kaa-san_ , I need your help," he said weakly.

 _"_ _My help?"_ Chikage sounded worried. _"What is it? Are you okay, Kaito?"_

"Yes, I'm fine. Just a bit shocked," the teen replied. " _Kaa-san_ , I need you to investigate Yuriko Adams. Please."

 _"_ _Yuriko Adams? Kaito, she's dead."_

"Yeah, but there's something strange about her. She might be involved in Yusaku- _san_ 's incident, so that's why, _Kaa-san_ , I need your help."

 _"_ _Oh, okay, what kind of help? I can't investigate a dead woman, you know."_

"Yeah, well, I need information about her family and her life when she was in Japan with her mother, also her father's relationship with her mother—whether they love each other or not, whether they were happy with their marriage or not—things like that. I think Yuriko's dad is still in New York, so maybe you can ask him, _Kaa-san_."

 _"_ _New York, huh? Fine then, I'll do that. Anything else?"_

" _Kaa-san_ , if you can, please take Yuriko's fingerprint too."

 _"_ _Her fingerprint? For what?"_

"I need to confirm something with her fingerprint."

 _"_ _Confirm what exactly?"_ Chikage asked curiously.

"I'm not sure yet, _Kaa-san_. Something about the sniper, I hope, but to confirm it I'll need her fingerprint."

 _"_ _Yuriko's fingerprint... It's not an easy request, Kaito. She has been dead for 4 years. I'm not sure if I can obtain her fingerprint after such a long time."_

"I know, but can you at least try? Please, _Kaa-san_ , this is important," Kaito begged.

 _"_ _Alright, I can try,"_ Chikage finally agreed. _"Is that all?"_

"Yes. That's all. Thanks a lot, _Kaa-san_."

 _"_ _You're welcome. I'll tell you when I've finished my job,"_ Chikage replied. _"You'd better get some sleep now. You have school tomorrow."_

"Yes. Night, _Kaa-san_."

 _"_ _Night, dear."_

Kaito sighed in relief after talking with his mother. Now he did not have to worry about Yuriko's investigation because his mother would take care of it. The only thing he needed to worry for now was Lily Mizushima. Kaito had to get her fingerprint. If Chikage was able to obtain Yuriko's fingerprint, then Kaito could ask Jii to check if it matched with Lily's fingerprint and if it matched, Kaito would have a solid proof that Yuriko Adams and Lily Mizushima were actually the same person, that Yuriko Adams was alive.

Kaito stayed awake for another few minutes, making plans to get Lily's fingerprint before finally he decided to sleep. Starting tomorrow, he would spy on a certain _kyudoka_ until he could obtain her fingerprint.

~o0o~

Chikage went back to Ekoda four days later. She was back to deliver Yuriko's fingerprint as well as to visit Yusaku and Yukiko. She complained to her son that her job in investigating Yuriko was not easy. Chikage had to pretend to be Yuriko's friend in shooting club who came to visit Yuriko's father because lately she was interested in _kyudo_ and she had heard that Yuriko was skilled in _kyudo_. She wanted to ask him where Yuriko learned _kyudo_ because Chikage planned to learn _kyudo_ too. Not only that, Chikage pretended that Yuriko was her best friend, so she thought she had to pay a visit to his best friend's father while she was in New York. That was the easiest excuse for her since she was skilled in shooting too and she had visited Yuriko's shooting club in California to investigate her before she visited Yuriko's father in New York.

Chikage put her best poker face, acted as convincing as she could. She showed her knowledge about firearm so that Yuriko's father would truly believe in her. The Phantom Lady acted as pleasing as possible while fishing information from him and secretly put a sleeping pill into his tea cup. When the father finally was sleeping, Chikage went to Yuriko's room where the father stored her things. Chikage began to search for Yuriko's fingerprint. She collected every fingerprint she could find, then she waited until the father woke up. When the father finally woke up, Chikage said to him that he suddenly fell unconscious and told him to take care of his health. Not long after that, the Phantom Lady excused herself politely and went back to her hotel. She prepared herself for a flight to Tokyo on the next day.

On the contrary, Kaito's job to obtain Lily's fingerprint was quite easy. He only needed to take her fingerprint at her apartment's door when she was working at Arata's gym. He did not have any problem when spying on her. The _kyudoka_ did not notice him since he was so good in acting and disguising. The unfortunate part was that Kaito could not obtain more information about Lily. He had disguised as Mia's fan and talked to some students in the _dojo_ about Mia's instructor who was none other than Lily, but the students seemed not to know many things about her other than that she was half American and raised in New York, kind-hearted, very skilled in _kyudo_ , and had a great concentration. Again, Kaito noticed that Lily did not give people much insight about her life. It was as if she was being careful of her identity.

From Chikage's investigation, Kaito could know that Yuriko lived in Tokyo before she moved to New York because her mother was the only child and she did not want to be far from her parents. Her father accepted that condition and worked in Tokyo so he could live not far from his parents in law. A year after her mother died, Yuriko and her father moved to New York because her father had to work there, but in truth, he could not take the pain living in Tokyo without his wife. Tokyo reminded him of her greatly and he always felt sad when he remembered her that time. When Yuriko still lived in Tokyo, she learned _kyudo_ from her mother who took _kyudo_ as a hobby. They often went to a _dojo_ for training. The _dojo_ belonged to Yuriko's mother's friend who also took _kyudo_ as a hobby. This _dojo_ was Arata's _dojo_.

"So in other words, Yuriko's parents loved each other," Kaito concluded after hearing his mother's explanation. This meant that his idea about Yuriko's father cheated with another woman was almost impossible. "And Yuriko actually knows Arata?"

"Yes. She knows him ever since she was very young. Her mother often took her to Arata's _dojo_ when she was still a child and when they visited the _dojo_ , Arata was always there to practice _kyudo_ with her mother," Chikage replied.

"I see..." Kaito was quite surprised with this information. If Yuriko actually was Lily, then it meant the _kyudoka_ knew Arata very well. It meant that Yuriko's smuggling case and suicide might have something to do with Arata's crime. If Lily was Yuriko, then she could be the sniper too since she was a hunter and an instructor in shooting club.

" _Kaa-san_ , what about the fingerprint?" Kaito asked.

"It's all in that paper bag," Chikage pointed a paper bag on the table not far from them. "As I said before, I collected many fingerprints. I don't know whether they are Yuriko's or not. I also took her father's fingerprint, just in case."

"Thanks, _Kaa-san_. You really helped me." Kaito smiled.

"No problem," Chikage smiled back, "but I'm really curious about what you will do with those fingerprints."

"I'll just check it if it matches with another fingerprint," Kaito answered.

"Whose fingerprint?"

"Lily Mizushima, an instructor at Arata's _kyudojo_."

"Hold on, you suspect her as Yuriko?" Chikage asked in disbelief.

"Yes, and I have reasons for that." Then Kaito explained to his mother about how he figured out that Yuriko's name was similar to Lily's name, that they had the same eyes and hair, that they both were Japanese-American.

"If they turn out to be the same person, then most likely Lily Mizushima had something to do with Arata's crime. She could be the sniper," Kaito explained.

"That makes sense," Chikage agreed. "But still, this is quite a shocking theory, Kaito. If Yuriko Adams turns out to be alive all this time... oh well..."

"Yeah, I know," Kaito nodded. "I hope we will be able to confirm it soon."

"I hope those fingerprints are good enough to be examined," Chikage said.

"I hope so," Kaito replied. "By the way, _Kaa-san_ , how long are you gonna stay?"

"I'll be leaving the day after tomorrow. I came here only to give you the fingerprints as well as to check up on you and to visit Yusaku and Yukiko."

"What? So soon?"

"I don't have much choice. I still have business in Vegas," Chikage shrugged.

"Right, of course," Kaito sighed, then suddenly he frowned as he realized something. " _Kaa-san_ , you said that you wanted to visit the Kudos?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Well, do you remember when I told you that I visited them as Inspector Nakamori?"

"Of course."

"I think they have figured out that the inspector that time is Kid."

"Are you serious?" Chikage's eyes widened.

"Yeah."

"And? Do they know that you're the second Kid?"

"No. I think they only know that Kid visited them that time."

"Oh, then that's fine," Chikage sighed in relief. "Remember, Kaito, it's best if they don't know you. We don't want them to get involved."

"I know," Kaito nodded. He knew very well that his identity as Kid was very important. His goal to get Pandora and to capture Snake and his organization were top secrets because they were dangerous. He could not let the Kudos get involved in his problem.

Kaito got up from the sofa and walked toward the table, taking the paper bag which contained fingerprints in it. " _Kaa-san_ , I have to deliver this to Jii- _chan_ now. I need his help to examine the fingerprints."

"Sure. Be careful on your way," Chikage replied. A few minutes after that, Kaito was already on his way to Blue Parrot to meet his assistant. He seriously hoped that he would get a solid proof with those fingerprints.

Two days later, Chikage was leaving to Las Vegas. At the same time, the result of fingerprint examination was out. It was exactly as Kaito had guessed. Yuriko and Lily were one and the same.

"Young Master, what should we do now?" Jii asked Kaito when they were at Blue Parrot.

"Is there any chance the police will notice this soon?" Kaito asked back as he stared at the result of fingerprint test in his hand.

"I don't think so. Currently they focus on Arata's crime, so they would hardly notice this."

"Uh, that's right..." Kaito sighed. It could only mean that Kaitou Kid had to aid the authorities with his secret message again, just like what he had done in Gogh's Sunflower case. Perhaps if the police kept digging Arata's crime, they eventually would notice the truth about Lily Mizushima, but it would take a very long time for them to notice it. Why? Because they clearly did not look at the former Interpol's suspects anymore. Their attention was completely diverted to Arata and they certainly did not think even for once that Yuriko could still be alive.

"Alright, let's assume that I will help the police, but how am I gonna do that?" Kaito muttered. He rubbed his chin in deep thought. What could he do to make them notice the truth about Lily? _'Maybe I don't have to make the police notice it. I'll just have to make_ Tantei-kun _notice it. That's always the easiest way, but how am I gonna do that? What should I do to make him notice it?'_ Usually Kid would give Conan somekind of message, a secret message so that people could not get the meaning easily. Kaito always had faith in his rivals, including Conan. He knew Conan would always be able to decipher his code, his secret message.

 _'_ _Do I have to make a secret message for him again? But he'll need time to solve it. If Lily Mizushima is the sniper, she may have planned to kill Yusaku-_ san _anytime now and I don't know when exactly she will do that if that really happens. Besides, that butler, Wolf, is still missing—huh? Wait a moment.'_ Kaito paused, thinking. He had not thought about Wolf lately. When Kaito thought about him again, it was possible that Wolf and Lily were partners in crime. The one who sent the letter to Kid could be Lily, but now Wolf was missing and Lily kept teaching _kyudo_ in the _dojo_ ; she truly did not do anything but that. Why could she teach _kyudo_ peacefully while Wolf was nowhere to be seen? Was he dead already? Did Lily kill him?

Was Lily really the sniper?

"Young Master?" Jii's voice brought Kaito back from his thoughts. "Is there something wrong?"

"No," Kaito shook his head. "Jii- _chan_ , I need to know where Lily Mizushima was when Aoboshi heist occurred."

"Huh? Why?"

"That way I'll know who's the sniper who targeted me," Kaito answered quickly. "As for this result, can I have another copy? I want to give it to someone else."

"Who?"

" _Tantei-kun_."

Jii looked taken aback. "You want to give him this result? Just like that? No riddles, codes, just like that?"

"Yeah."

"Why? Will that be alright?"

Kaito smiled. "Yeah. Trust me."

"Oh, okay, if you say so, Young Master." Jii relented, did not ask for the reason any further.

"Thanks, Jii- _chan_ ," Kaito replied. The teen could not explain any further to Jii. He decided that he would give _Tantei-kun_ the result without adding another problem with codes or riddles because he made promise to Chikage. He had promised her to help the Kudos. On top of it, he could understand Conan's feeling, his determination to capture people who had harmed his father. Kaito was in the same position too. He wanted to capture those people who had killed his father. If Kaito told Jii about that, Jii would ask more about Conan, like why Kaito did not give it to Yusaku instead of Conan or why Kaito could have such empathy toward the bespectacled boy. Kaito did not want any of that. He had to keep Conan's identity in secret.

"So, Young Master, when are you going to give the result to that boy?" Jii asked.

"As soon as I can. Hmm... maybe tomorrow," Kaito answered. The sooner Conan read the result, the better. Kaito would send the result to Agasa's house, not Mouri's, since the result was a special gift for Kudos. The teen was afraid Kogoro and Ran would become suspicious if they knew that Kid gave the boy a very important information openly—no riddles, no codes, no mystery—without asking anything in return. Kaito also decided to use a name which was familiar to Conan so that the detective could recognize it as a gift from the thief.

 _'_ _Which name? I used so many names for my disguises. Does he remember all of them?'_ Kaito pondered. After thinking for a few minutes, finally the magician made his choice. He chose the easiest name to remember as Kid's name, a name which _Tantei-kun_ was able to recognize a long time ago.

 _'_ _Katsuki Doito.'_

TBC

* * *

 **Yuriko (kanji: 百合子), from Japanese 百合 _(_ _yuri_ _)_ meaning "lily" and 子 _(_ _ko_ _)_ meaning "child"**

 **Mizushima (kanji: 水島), from Japanese 水 _(_ _mizu_ _)_ meaning "water" and 島 _(_ _shima_ _)_ meaning "island"**

 **Shimizu (kanji: 清水), from Japanese 清 _(_ _shi_ _)_ meaning "clear, pure, clean" and 水 _(_ _mizu_ _)_ meaning "water"**

 **I got those names and their meanings from some websites. I myself can't speak or write in Japanese.**

 **Review please :)**


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: Detective Conan and Magic Kaito belong to Aoyama Gosho, but my OCs are mine.

 **Chapter 14**

 **Completing the Puzzle**

Yusaku stared at a piece of paper in his hand in silence. He was shocked. That paper made him shocked. The novelist turned his attention toward his son who was sitting at the edge of his bed.

"Why?" finally he asked the boy.

"Why did he give that? Probably because his life is targeted too," Conan answered. "I know you must be quite shocked with this, _Tou-san_. I was shocked too when I first saw that result." The detective sighed, remembering the content of the paper in Yusaku's hand with Kid's message and insignia at the bottom part.

 _A gift for you and your parents, Tantei-kun. Use it wisely._

 _'_ _Damn you, Kid. Always so unpredictable._ ' Conan sighed once again. He did not know how he should react to the thief's gift. His gift was so precious, true, but Kid never gave him something as important as this gift so openly. Usually he would use a secret code or secret message with his confusing riddles, but this gift was bold, to the point, and clear. It was a solid proof, an undeniable evidence that told him the truth about Lily Mizushima and Yuriko Adams. Conan did not have any idea how the thief could manage to obtain their fingerprint—okay, maybe it was easy to get Lily's fingerprint, but Yuriko? She was supposed to die 4 years ago, but despite of that, Kid was able to get her fingerprint from her things in New York. It seemed that the thief was more resourceful and more skilled than he had thought.

" _Tou-san_ , do you remember Yuriko Adams' case?" Conan asked his father. Yusaku nodded.

"Actually, I have a complete file on that case. It's here in the library," the novelist added.

"That's even better. I'll get it." The boy got up from the bed and walked toward the library, leaving Yusaku alone with Yukiko in their bedroom. The former actress looked unsure. She did not know what to do. She was surprised knowing that a dead woman actually was still alive. she felt exactly like that time when she just discovered that Sharon was alive. She was surprised, shocked, happy, and sad altogether. Not only that, she was also confused with the sudden gift from the phantom thief and at the same time, she was excited with this situation. Kid never gave anything so obvious like this before, without tricks, riddles, or codes. As far as she knew, Yusaku always had to solve the thief's riddles to get something important like this fingerprint test result.

Tonight really was a shocking night for Yukiko and Yusaku. For their son too. Conan rushed toward Kudo residence soon after he had read the gift from Kid at Agasa's house. The boy was in urge. He insisted to talk with his parents in private while carrying a booklet envelope which turned out to contain an important document from the phantom thief.

"Do you think we can trust him, Yusaku?" Yukiko asked. "Do you think that result is true?"

"If it comes from Kid, then it should be true. As far as I know, Kid never lies about things like this," Yusaku replied.

"It's true then? That Lily Mizushima is Yuriko Adams?"

"I guess, but we will know for sure if we look at Yuriko's case again," Yusaku answered. "You know, Yukiko, I remember Yuriko Adams was a hunter, skilled in firearm and archery."

"Are you saying that Mizushima- _san_ could be the sniper?"

"Exactly, but let's wait until Shinichi gets the file for us."

A few minutes later, Conan returned to his parents' room with Yuriko's case file in his hand. The boy read the file first; Yusaku did not really need that since he still remembered the case clearly. Once Conan had finished reading, he gave the file to Yukiko so that she could learn about Yuriko too. While Yukiko read the file, Conan started to discuss the case with his father.

The file told Conan many things about Yuriko. It told him her biodata, her background, her job, her smuggling crime and finally, her suicide. Now the detective knew that Yuriko was more than a smuggler. She was a professional hunter. She was skilled in firearm and archery. She taught people how to use gun and rifle. Her archery skill came from her experience in _kyudo_. Now Conan knew that Yuriko used to learn _kyudo_ with her mother when she was living in Tokyo. He knew that Yuriko learned it in Arata's _dojo_. Her mother was Arata's friend.

"How come the police had not suspected him before? I mean, they didn't even think that Arata could be involved in Yuriko's case," Conan said to his father.

"I think that's because they never contacted each other ever since Yuriko went to America," Yusaku answered. "On top of it, she wasn't directly connected to Arata when she smuggled drugs. That time the police only knew that Yuriko smuggled drugs to pay for her boyfriend's surgery."

"If she wasn't connected directly to him, then to whom? Who's the middle man?"

"Ah, that's in another case. I remember the middle man was Eric Wu's follower. Not long after Yuriko had committed suicide, Mr. Wood told me that the Interpol managed to arrest him."

"Eric Wu?" Conan blinked. "Isn't he the one who has a link with one of Interpol's suspects, Elizabeth Gray?"

"That's true," Yusaku nodded. "He was one hell of a smuggler, cunning and astute. He has many followers, scattered around the world after he got arrested, but despite of that, they still manage to do their job—smuggling, I mean."

"Do you mean the authorities haven't captured all of them?"

"Yes. In some cases, some of them were working for another person, some of them tried to keep Eric Wu's legacy. Usually people who try to stick with Wu are easy to capture. The one who worked with Yuriko was in this category."

"He sticked to Eric Wu? Not Arata?" Yukiko asked, confused.

"Yes, but now that the police have found out that Arata's also involved in smuggling crime and that we know that actually Yuriko and Lily are the same person, I believe Arata had a role in this too."

"Perhaps Wu and Arata were partners in crime," Conan stated.

"I agree with you, Shin," Yusaku replied. "If not, why else this Wu's follower could work with Yuriko? I'm almost certain Arata had planned them to work together somehow."

"Huh? Why?" Yukiko asked, did not really get what her husband had said.

"Because Yuriko Adams knows Arata quite well. If she had financial problem, she should ask Arata for help, which means she should ask him to help Harry Green—her boyfriend—when neither her nor Harry were able to pay for Harry's surgery. If Arata was generous, Yuriko didn't have to smuggle illegal drugs in order to pay Harry's surgery, but the reality said otherwise. Furthermore, she had to work with Wu's follower. How in the world Yuriko could have contact with such criminal? The most sensible answer is because Arata somehow connected them with each other. After all, we know that Arata's also guilty for smuggling illegal drugs," Conan explained.

"Does that mean Arata refused to help her?"

"Not quite. Harry Green was able to pay for his surgery, so that means Arata had helped her, but also asked her for something in return," Yusaku corrected.

"He asked her to smuggle drugs for him?"

"Yes, I believe so."

"Oh dear..." Yukiko sighed. "If that truly happened, I really pity her."

"Me too, considering Arata was a friend of Yuriko's mother and already knew Yuriko ever since she was young. I have no idea how could he do that to her if that truly happened," Yusaku agreed. "Anyways, now we have some important pieces for our puzzle. Yuriko is still alive. She is Lily Mizushima, a _kyudo_ instructor who works at Arata's gym. Lily clearly knows Arata very well and she's not only skilled in _kyudo_ , but also in shooting. She should be able to use a sniper rifle since she worked as a hunter before, which means she's a potential candidate for our mysterious sniper."

"Yeah, but why did she fake her death? Arata must have something to do with this. And why the police didn't realize Arata's involvement sooner even though they were able to capture Wu's follower?" Conan responded, still had some questions.

"Probably because the police had found her to be guilty for smuggling. If she gets captured, sooner or later the police would find out about Arata since she knows Arata quite well. That sounds dangerous for him, don't you think?" Yusaku answered. "And to answer your second question, I know that Wu's follower that time didn't know Arata. He only knew that he worked with the help of Wu's acquaintance—he referred to him as Wu's business partner, actually. He told the police that he knew nothing about this person except that that person is a man—he didn't know his voice or his face—and that they never met each other directly. The police couldn't ask Yuriko about him too since she had committed suicide that time. Unfortunately, this Wu's acquaintance disappeared as soon as the police suspected Yuriko and this poor middle man was left alone without any help to escape from the police."

"Oh, I see. Then Yuriko's fake death probably was planned by Arata?" Conan frowned. "He was willing to help Yuriko but unwilling to help the middle man?"

"I think so. It's possible Arata helped Yuriko to escape not just because her arrest could lead to his arrest, but also because he cared about her. After all, she's a daughter of his friend and he had known her since she was very young."

"But why would he abandon the middle man? That man could lead him to prison too," Yukiko asked.

"But in reality, that man didn't send Arata to prison, right? I guess Arata already knew what he should do. Maybe at that time, it was better for him to leave the middle man," Yusaku replied, then he looked at the fingerprint result in his hand once again. "I have to admit Kid is impressive for being able to figure out Yuriko's false identity. I may won't ever think about her being alive all this time, teaching _kyudo_ in Arata's gym."

"That's true. I never thought about it either," Yukiko agreed. "How do you think he could figure her out?"

"I think I know how," Conan answered. "Now that I think about it, Yuriko Adams and Mizushima- _sensei_ have similar feature: they both have green eyes, which is a rare eye color in the world, and they both are Japanese-American. Their names also have similar meaning. _Kanji yuri_ in Yuriko means lily and based on Yuriko's file, I know that her mother's surname is Shimizu. It have _kanji mizu_ , just like _mizu_ in Mizushima. Maybe Kid became suspicious when he thought of these things and he decided to confirm it."

"I see! Those things indeed are too much for coincidences!" Yukiko looked amazed. "I wonder why you two didn't realize it," she added, quipping her husband and her son.

"I haven't met Mizushima- _san_. Of course I don't know if she has green eyes. Moreover, the police haven't suspected her," Yusaku retorted.

"I also didn't think of her being Yuriko Adams because she appears innocent. The police didn't find her to be connected to Arata and the other employees' statement only affirm it. Not only that, the police didn't find any firearm or anything related to it in her house. I haven't suspected her until this afternoon," Conan explained.

"This afternoon?" Yukiko asked curiously while Yusaku looked at his son seriously.

"Yes, this afternoon." Then Conan told his parents about his visit to Arata's _kyudojo_ with the detective boys and how he found out about Lily being familiar with firearms and SLLS, things that a _kyudoka_ should not know. He told them that he began to suspect Lily after he noticed those things.

"Huh, that's indeed unusual for a _kyudoka_. Perhaps she's truly the sniper," Yusaku muttered, "and if the police couldn't find any firearm in her house, maybe she already disposed the weapon or gave it to Takenaka if that butler indeed is her partner in crime."

"Yeah, but there's still one mystery left," Conan replied. " _Tou-san_ , Takenaka is still missing. We don't know for sure whether he's alive or dead. If he's dead, maybe Mizushima- _sensei_ killed him. If he's alive, maybe he's Mizushima- _sensei_ 's partner in crime. If the latter is the case, then maybe they still want to kill someone else—maybe they want to kill you, _Tou-san_."

"Hmm... maybe," Yusaku nodded in agreement, "but it doesn't matter now, does it? We will just have to confront her to stop her for killing me, if that's indeed her intention. Besides, I'm in good hands here, so we don't need to worry about my safety."

"I guess so..."

"Um, I think you two forget something else," Yukiko interrupted. "I'm sure Mizushima- _san_ was said to witness Mia Vasquez in _dojo_ when Yusaku got shot. If she's the sniper, how come she was able to shoot Yusaku and at the same time witnessed Vasquez- _san_ in the _dojo_?"

Yusaku and Conan blinked, looked at each other for a moment. Yukiko was right. The police clearly stated that Lily witnessed Mia in Arata's _dojo_ when Yusaku got shot since she was Mia's instructor. If Lily was the sniper, of course it was impossible for her to shoot Yusaku and at the same time witnessing Mia in the _dojo_.

"If Arata's butler is Mizushima- _san_ 's partner in crime, it's possible he's the one who shot me," Yusaku finally said after he had thought for a while. "Moreover, that time Arata was still alive, so it's more likely they were at the same team, working for Arata to kill me."

"Right. Besides, it's impossible if Mizushima- _sensei_ shot _Tou-san_ from Arata's gym. It's quite far from the hall of press conference," Conan added, seriously doubted a sniper could shoot from such distance, "but just to make sure, I think we can discuss this with Subaru- _san_ since he's also a skilled sniper. We should ask the police about the whereabout of Arata's butler too when you got shot, _Tou-san_."

"Right. I'll ask Subaru- _san_ and Megure later," Yusaku agreed, but then he looked as if he remembered something. The novelist was in deep thought all of a sudden, making Conan and Yukiko confused.

"Yu- _chan_?" Yukiko called the novelist softly. "What's wrong?"

"The prisoner... didn't at first we think that Arata held a grudge against me because I helped the authorities to arrest his acquaintance?" Yusaku mumbled as he rubbed his chin.

"Now that you mention it, I think you're right," Yukiko responded. "So what's up with the prisoner?"

"We also thought that the sniper might want to kill the prisoner after Arata's death... that Kid might know this prisoner because the sniper also wanted to kill him."

"Uhh, that's true. So?"

"The prisoner that had a connection with Arata and the sniper... could that be...?"

"Eric Wu." Conan finished his father's sentence. His eyes were wide open when he realized this possibility. "Kid knows Eric Wu."

Suddenly the room was filled with silence. Yusaku and Conan looked at each other with meaningful gazes while Yukiko did not know what to say. After quite a while, the former actress could not stand the silence any longer, so she decided to break it.

"Whatever you two are thinking, I want you to explain it to me," Yukiko demanded, throwing an impatience look at her husband and her son. "I don't like being the only one in the dark."

Yusaku and Conan glanced at each other again before finally Conan voluntered himself to explain.

" _Kaa-san_ , if Eric Wu's truly connected to Arata and Kid knows that, I think perhaps Kid and Arata talked about Eric Wu in their meeting."

"Why should it be like that?"

"Because we have guessed that Arata wanted to hire Kid for something in that meeting and Arata offered his gems as a payment, but we still don't know what kind of job he offered to the thief. Kid obviously refused that job because Arata's sniper also wanted to kill him, but why did he refuse it? Moreover, why did he even promise Arata to steal his jewels? Why did he perform dangerous heist like Aoboshi heist?"

"Well, he wanted to alert the police about the sniper who targeted him and he wanted to tell them that he's also involved in Yusaku's case, right?" Yukiko replied.

"Yes, but why did he refuse Arata's job and even more, threaten him with his heist promise? Also, how could he be so sure that the sniper who targeted him actually is the same sniper that had shot _Tou-san_?"

"Because... because he already knew that Arata was involved in Yusaku's incident," Yukiko answered slowly, trying to process the questions and to remember her previous discussion with Yusaku and Conan many days ago after Aoboshi heist. "Kid knew that Arata had a connection with Yusaku's incident, that's why he refused the job. He threatened Arata with his heist promise to make sure whether or not Arata was truly involved in the case. He had guessed Arata might want to kill him with a sniper when he performed his heist."

"And how do you think Kid could realize that Arata has a connection with _Tou-san_ 's case?" Conan asked further.

"How?" Yukiko thought for a moment until something clicked in her head. "Wait. Eric Wu was arrested by Interpol with Yusaku's help and... let's assume he once worked with Arata. If Kid knows Eric Wu, that means Kid already knows that Eric Wu was arrested by Interpol with Yusaku's help since the beginning and later he found out that Eric Wu has a connection with Arata." Yukiko frowned, the she looked at her son. "Shin- _chan_ , do you want to say that Kid only realized that connection after Arata had offered a job to him?"

"Exactly," Conan nodded. "He only realized it in his meeting with Arata and that means the job that Arata offered to him is somehow linked to Eric Wu."

"But what kind of job that could make him realize it?"

"Based on our presumption that the sniper might want to kill the prisoner after Arata's death—which means the prisoner has an important information that could take the sniper to prison—coupled with the fact that the sniper also wanted to kill Kid, it's most likely the prisoner knows something important about Arata and the sniper," Yusaku answered.

"But until now Wu hasn't reported anything about Arata to the police and the recent investigation also said that the prisoners didn't seem to have any connection with Arata. That means Wu doesn't know anything about him, right?" Yukiko asked again.

"Yes, but maybe that's because Arata worked with him with his false identity or through a very trusted mediator—his accomplices admitted that Arata often worked with criminals using false identities or his mediator and the mediator can't be Yuriko's middle man, of course, since that man was Wu's follower. If the police are able to figure out Arata's false identity or his mediator and then they ask Wu about it, what do you think will happen to Arata?"

"Well, obviously he'll be in trouble. His secret business will be exposed and the police will arrest him, and sooner or later they will catch the sniper too," Yukiko answered, then suddenly she realized something. "Hold on. Yu- _chan_ , Arata was already a suspect of fraud case when you got shot, right?"

Yusaku only smiled and nodded.

"Could it be that he was depressed? He was a suspect that time and if Wu truly knows something about him that could endanger him—wait, it can't be, right?" Yukiko worriedly looked at Yusaku and Conan.

"No, it's possible," Yusaku quickly replied. He knew what his wife was thinking. "Maybe Arata wanted to kill Wu, but we know that Wu's still in prison. As long as Wu is in prison, Arata could never be able to harm him. That's why he needed Kid."

"Kid is known as an expert in lock-picking. Not only that, he was able to break into the strongest safe in Japan, so maybe Arata had hoped that Kid would be able to break into prison. He had hoped that Kid could release Eric Wu," Conan added.

"So that's probably what happened at that meeting. Arata offered Kid a job to release Wu, but Kid refused it because he was aware of Eric Wu's link to Yusaku and his Interpol friend..." Yukiko mumbled in surprise.

"There's still something else about this case," Yusaku said again. "Kenji Takenaka, Arata's butler, is also known as Arata's trusted assistant. Do you get what I mean?"

"Trusted assistant..." Yukiko's eyes widened. "Trusted mediator?!"

The novelist nodded. "It's possible Wu also knows about him too. We really should notice the authorities. We have to make sure whether or not Wu knows Takenaka."

"Right," Yukiko responded, still a bit shocked and confused with all of deductions she had heard tonight. "So... if Arata wanted to kill Wu because Wu may have important info about him, why did he want to kill you too, Yu- _chan_? Why did he want to kill Mr. Wood?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe he truly had a grudge against us, or maybe he truly was afraid of us, just like what his accomplices told us. I guess we'll know for sure if the sniper finally gets arrested," Yusaku shrugged. "Anyways, I think we have completed the puzzle. We've progressed this far simply because of Kid's gift. It's really impressive."

"Yeah, though we still have to ensure some things, such as Takenaka's whereabout when you got shot, _Tou-san_ , and whether or not Wu knows Takenaka—oh, right! We also need to ensure Mizushima- _sensei_ 's alibi when Aoboshi heist occurred. I think it shouldn't be a problem since the police investigated Arata's employees not long after the heist," Conan said.

"You're right. If she doesn't have alibi when Aoboshi heist occurred, then we can be more confident that she's the sniper. Actually, it will be better if we investigate her totally. I'll tell Megure about that," Yusaku agreed.

"But tell him to investigate her secretly, _Tou-san_. If she knows that the police suspect her, perhaps she would leave and change her identity again, just like what she had done in the past."

"Sure."

Conan stayed in his parents' room, watching his father talking to Megure via cellphone, asking the inspector to investigate Lily secretly and to investigate if Eric Wu knew Kenji Takenaka. Yusaku also asked Megure about Takenaka's alibi when the novelist got shot and Lily's whereabout when Aoboshi heist occurred. When the novelist finally finished talking, Conan asked him what Megure had said.

"He will tell us the news tomorrow," Yusaku answered.

"I see..." Conan nodded. "I guess it's fine then. We don't have to wait for long."

"Yes. Oh, by the way, it's already this late. Where are you going to sleep, Shin?"

Conan glanced at his watch. It was already past 10 pm. "Huh, I haven't noticed it's already this late. I guess I'll sleep at Professor's house."

"What about school?" Yukiko asked. "You have school tomorrow, Shin- _chan_."

"I can go back to the agency tomorrow morning and get my stuff for school, so it's fine." The boy got up from his parents' bed where he had been sitting all this time. "I guess I better get back to Professor's house now before he and Haibara fall asleep. Please let me know about the news from Inspector Megure."

"Sure. Don't forget to call Ran- _chan_. She'll be worried if you don't," Yukiko reminded him.

"Uh, yeah," Conan replied nervously. He really hoped Ran would not get angry when he called her later. After all, he rushed toward Agasa's house without proper explanation and now he would have to tell her that he would sleep in Agasa's house. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, _Kaa-san, Tou-san_. Good night."

"Good night, Shin- _chan_." Yukiko replied and waved her hand briefly while Yusaku only smiled gently at his son. When Conan had left Kudo residence, Yusaku asked his wife after a moment of thinking.

"Yukiko, when we get back to America, let's visit Chikage- _san_."

"Huh?" Yukiko was a little surprised. "I don't mind, but why are you suddenly asking me this?"

"Nothing. I just think that maybe we should return the favor since she has visited us."

"Oh," Yukiko smiled. "I guess you're right. She's so kind, coming here all the way from Vegas to visit us."

"Yes," Yusaku smiled as he looked at a gift from Kaitou Kid on his lap. "And Yukiko? Let's visit Toichi- _san_ after this case is over."

"Huh? You want to visit his grave?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Why not? It's been a long time since the last time we visited him."

"Well, that's true, but for you to suddenly want to visit him... is it because of Chikage's visit?"

"You could say that."

Yukiko blinked a few times, still surprised by Yusaku's sudden request before finally she smiled. "Alright, I don't mind. We can visit him after this case is over. I'm sure he'll be happy if you visit him, Yu- _chan_."

"I'll be happy to visit him too," Yusaku replied. He smiled fondly at Kid's gift. He missed Toichi and his magic tricks. He missed Kaitou Kid. He owed Kurobas so much. Those were all the reasons that made him want to visit Chikage and Toichi, but Yukiko did not need to know. He would keep Kurobas' secret to himself. Maybe later his son would figure them out, but for now, he would not say anything about their secret to anyone else, not even to his own family. It was the least he could do to repay their kindness to him.

TBC

* * *

 **Finally I'm able to publish this chapter. Fuuhh... Crime story indeed is hard and cruel :(**

 **Anyways, thank you for your support, favs, follows, and reviews. Thank you for your time. I hope you enjoy this chapter and please don't hesitate to give a review!**


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: Detective Conan and Magic Kaito belong to Aoyama Gosho, but my OCs are mine.

 **Chapter 15**

 **Chasing the** **Kyudoka**

Conan was a little surprised when he visited his parents after school on the next day. Yusaku and Yukiko told him the recent news from Megure which was a bit surprising to him. It turned out that Lily attended Aoboshi heist with his friends, meaning she joined the crowd that time, so it was impossible for her to shoot Kid. Takenaka visited the gym with Arata when Yusaku got shot. The employees in Arata's gym witnessed them talking with customers and doing some sports. They also watched Mia's training that day. In addition, Subaru told Yusaku and Yukiko that shooting from Arata's gym to the hall of press conference would be difficult, but not impossible. Not many sniper could shoot from such a distance, but Subaru admitted that perhaps he could do that since he was the best sniper in FBI.

"All of them were in Arata's gym," Conan rubbed his chin, processing the information that he had heard from his parents, "and although difficult, it isn't impossible to shoot from that place, so... if the sniper is very skilled, he or she could shoot from there, meaning if the sniper is Mizushima- _sensei_ , then she's a very skilled sniper. Perhaps she could shoot without anyone noticing her. After all, Takenaka and Arata was there too; they could help to hide her from the other employees somehow... which means even though Mizushima- _sensei_ has her alibi when you got shot, _Tou-san_ , there is a possibility her alibi is fake."

"Yes," Yusaku agreed, "though this doesn't seem to be promising since her students including Mia Vasquez also claimed to be with her that time... oh, but at least now we can be sure that the sniper who shot Kid in Aoboshi heist isn't Mizushima- _san_."

"Then who? Takenaka?" Yukiko asked.

"Maybe, but the problem is he's still missing," Yusaku replied. "We don't know if he's alive or dead. The only way to confirm this is by asking Mizushima- _san_ , but if Mizushima- _san_ had killed him, I doubt she will admit it without proof."

"But we have her result of fingerprint test. It can be used as a proof, right?"

"Yes, but we can't use it since Kid had arranged it so that we wouldn't be able to show it to the police."

"What do you mean?"

"You remember to whom that result was sent? It was addressed to Conan Edogawa, but delivered to Professor's house, not to Mouri's. Furthermore, Kid's message told us that the fingerprint result was a gift for Conan's parents too, but why would Conan's parents need such a thing like that? They are supposed to not having anything related to Lily Mizushima, Yuriko Adams, or Kid himself. If the police notice this, they will try to investigate Conan's parents and that will be dangerous for us."

"Oh, I get it. It may endanger Shin- _chan_ 's identity," Yukiko responded in disappointment.

"Exactly. We don't want that, do we?" Yusaku replied. "We need to figure out another way to approach Mizushima- _san_."

"But I don't get it. Why did Kid have to arrange it that way? Why didn't he allow us to show it to the police?"

"Not sure. Maybe because once the police have seen it, they will try to figure out his identity by investigating every institution that conduct fingerprint test, but I doubt Kid doesn't have his own equipment for fingerprint test since his job almost always involves fingerprints," Yusaku replied as he rubbed his chin. "Or maybe because it simply is a gift for us, because he thinks we can handle it better than the police? After all, if he gives it to the police, there will be a higher chance for Lily Mizushima's identity to be leaked to public even before the police can arrest her. If that happens, there will be a high probability of Mizushima- _san_ running away from the police and changing her identity again."

"Huh, so it means he assumes we're good at keeping secrets," Yukiko mumbled.

"Yes, since we indeed have important secret to keep," Yusaku grinned teasingly at his son who looked back at him in annoyance.

"Can we just forget about him? We have more important things to discuss," the boy said irritably.

"That's right," Yusaku agreed. "Then let's get back to the main topic. Like I said before, we need another way to approach Mizushima- _san_."

"And Kid's gift can't be used as a proof to her crime," Yukiko added.

"Yeah. Maybe we should wait a little longer. The police have been investigating her secretly, so maybe we will have another evidence to corner her. _Tou-san_ , maybe it will be better if we tell the police to investigate her identity," Conan suggested.

Yusaku nodded. "Yes, I already told Megure to check her identity. I guess we could only wait for now," he said.

Since then, Conan could only wait for Megure's report as he himself always paid attention to every news about Arata and the missing Takenaka. Finally, the day when everything became clear arrived.

"The authorities have checked Mizushima- _san_ 's identity. They didn't find her name in national database, but she has complete documents about herself: birth certificate, passport, driving license, even an ID as a citizen in USA, but well, since the Interpol couldn't find her in USA's database, we can assume that those documents are fake," Yusaku explained. "Not only that, Megure also said that she was in New York when Mr. Wood was killed. He said that she was taking a few days off work to visit her hometown."

"Hmm... Perhaps Arata helped her in creating her fake documents since Arata was known to have multiple identities when he had a business with criminals... and if she was in New York that time, there's a high chance she's the sniper who killed Mr. Wood," Conan commented.

"Yes, and there's one more," Yusaku said, "Eric Wu admitted that he didn't know Takenaka, but he also said that he knew someone who had similar posture. He called him Wolf."

"Wolf? Is that Takenaka's codename when he was dealing with criminals?"

"Probably, but he also could have another names just like Arata."

"And what about Mizushima- _sensei_? When will the police arrest her?"

"Ah, they already established her as a suspect, so they decided to tell her about that as soon as her job in Arata's gym finished."

"I see..." Conan frowned, rubbing his chin in deep thought. Somehow he felt as if something was missing. _'What is it? I know there's more about this case. What is it?'_ the boy thought desperately. Yusaku only smiled when he saw Conan lost in thoughts. He knew that his son indeed missed something. He waited for Conan to figure it out by himself.

"Ah!" the shrunken detective suddenly jerked his head. He knew what it was that he had missed. "Mizushima- _sensei_ isn't the one who shot Kid, so the sniper that time probably was Takenaka. But why? That time Arata was dead already. Mizushima- _sensei_ didn't have any obligation to kill Kid, neither did Takenaka, but still he probably shot Kid while Mizushima- _sensei_ didn't—wait, who's the culprit who killed Arata, then? Mizushima- _sensei_ or Takenaka?"

"I've thought about that too," Yusaku replied. "If you ask me, I'll say that the sniper that killed Arata probably is Takenaka."

"Why?"

"Because I choose to trust Mizushima- _san_. She knows Arata since she was young. Arata was her mother's friend. I want to believe that Mizushima- _san_ —or Yuriko—still has respect for him, thus she wouldn't kill him."

"If you say it like that, then Takenaka probably is still alive."

"Yes, unless Yuriko changed her mind and in the end she decided to kill him, but I doubt she'll be able to do that if the weapon is in Takenaka's hand, considering most likely he's the sniper who shot Kid."

"So you're saying that Mizushima- _san_ isn't the true villain," Yukiko's voice suddenly was heard in the room. The former actress who had been silent all this time finally decided to speak. "You're saying that Takenaka is the true bad guy."

"Yes, more or less," Yusaku admitted.

"If that's the case, she could be in danger anytime now. Takenaka probably wants to kill her too!" Conan exclaimed. " _Tou-san_ , we have to save her before Takenaka gets her."

"Yes, but you don't have to worry, Shin. Mizushima- _san_ isn't weak. She's a _kyudoka_ and a former hunter. Besides, the police are watching her in secret and I already told Megure to protect her. She should be fine."

"I-I guess you're right..." Conan really hoped that Lily would be safe. He did not want to have anymore victim in this case. He tried to believe in his father's words and tried not to worry too much, but his faith in Yusaku's words soon vanished when at the same day, the novelist received an urgent call from Megure.

The police had lost Lily.

"No, she's not dead. Not yet," Yusaku hurriedly added when he saw his son's face covered with terror. "They only lost her from their watch. Megure said that in the middle of training, Mizushima- _san_ felt sick and asked the manager's permission to go home early, but the officers who were tasked to watch her were unaware that she had left the gym. When they finally realized that they had lost her, they searched to her home, but she wasn't there. The police are still looking for her."

"Where could she be if not in the gym or her home?" Conan asked worriedly. "It's possible she's kidnapped on the way home, right?"

"Calm down, Shin. Be patient. Let's wait a little longer and give the police a chance, okay?"

Conan inhaled a deep breath to calm himself. Yusaku was right. He had to be calm, otherwise he would not be able to think clearly. The boy spent his time at Kudo residence with his parents and Subaru, waiting for the latest news about Lily, but it seemed that there was no significant progress even after he had waited until past dinner time. The boy started to get panic. Why the hell hadn't the police found her yet? Where in the world was she?

Apparently Megure told Yusaku that maybe the _kyudoka_ disguised herself if not being kidnapped. Her neighbor did not know where she was, neither did they know what kind of places she usually would visit. People in her apartment were very individualistic. They only knew that Lily was a _kyudoka_ in Arata's gym. The employees in the gym also seemed to not know her very much because Lily rarely talked about herself.

"I can't just sit down and wait." The detective finally lost his patience. He grabbed his skateboard and walked toward the front door.

"Shin- _chan_ , where are you going?" Yukiko immediately asked.

"I'm going to look for her," Conan answered.

"Eh? But it's already dark. Just leave it to the police."

"I can't."

Yukiko seemed reluctant. "But, Shin- _chan_ , it could be dangerous, and even if you want to find her, how are you going to do that?"

"I'll figure it out somehow," Conan replied nonchalantly as he activated his turbo engine skateboard. "I'm going, _Kaa-san_. Bye."

"Wait, Shin—" Yukiko could not finish her sentence. Her son was already rushing with his skateboard, leaving the Kudo residence in an instant. The former actress sighed and returned into the house. When she finally had closed the door, she found her husband looking at her in amusement.

"Why are you putting that face? Your son just ran into danger, Yu- _chan_ ," Yukiko pouted.

"He's stronger than you think, Yukiko. Besides, I know sooner or later he will join the search," Yusaku smiled. "Well, we'll see how he's going to solve this case."

"But Yu- _chan_ , it's dangerous! Aren't you worried about him?"

"I am, but detective always faces danger. He needs that experience."

"But technically he's a kid, Yusaku, a kid!"

"And that's why he has Professor's inventions with him. Don't worry, he'll be fine."

"I can never understand why you're so optimist when he runs into danger," Yukiko grumbled. That was when suddenly Subaru appeared, looking at the Kudos in bewilderment.

"Are you having a fight?" he asked questioningly.

"No, Subaru- _san_ , just a bit of disagreement," Yusaku answered lightly.

"I see." Subaru still was not convinced, then suddenly he realized something. "Where is Conan- _kun_?"

"Running into danger," Yukiko answered flatly.

"Huh?"

~o0o~

Conan stopped his skateboard in front of a hotel near Arata's gym. Mia Vasquez stayed there. The shrunken detective thought that perhaps the athlete knew more about Lily since Lily was her instructor. If the employees did not know many things about Lily, perhaps her student knew, especially a special student like Mia who most of the time was training under Lily's guidance. Fortunately Conan remembered Mia's address. He should thank Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko for asking the athlete her address. If they did not ask her, Conan doubted he ever would. He had no interest in archery nor America.

Conan entered the hotel, riding the elevator to the floor where Mia's room was located. He searched for her room for a while until finally he stopped in front of a door. The boy knocked it a few times, then he waited. Not long after that, Conan could see Mia's face appeared behind the door.

"Conan! What a surprise to see you here!" the athlete beamed, then suddenly she frowned. "Oh, wait, are you alone?"

"Yes. Can I have a moment with you, Mia- _san_? I need to talk about something," Conan replied.

"Oh, is that so?" Mia raised her eyebrows, throwing a puzzled look. "Okay, come in, then." The athlete invited Conan to her room. The boy sighed in relief, then he entered Mia's room with Mia following him from behind. The athlete closed the door, then she asked the boy to sit while she prepared something for him to drink. A few minutes later, Conan and Mia was sitting face to face on Mia's bed with a glass of orange juice for each other on the table not far from the bed.

"So what do you want to talk about?" Mia asked curiously.

"It's about Mizushima- _sensei_ ," Conan answered. "Mia- _san_ , you're close to her, right? After all, she's your instructor."

"Well, I guess you can say that," Mia nodded. "What about her, Conan?"

"Do you know any places where she would usually visit?"

"Places that she would visit?" Mia frowned. "Why are you asking me this?"

"Actually, she hasn't been at home ever since she left to work this morning," Conan answered.

"She isn't at home? That's strange. _Sensei_ left the _dojo_ early today. She said she was sick," Mia responded in surprise.

"Yes. The police are looking for her right now. Not even her neighbors know where she could be, that's why I thought maybe Mia- _san_ knows."

"Oh my, this is unexpected," Mia mumbled worriedly. "Places that _Sensei_ would visit... I'm afraid I don't know many, Conan. _Sensei_ rarely talks about herself."

"It's okay. Please tell me anything that you know," Conan pressed.

"Uh, right. Well, she told me that she likes reading _manga_ , so maybe a bookstore or library around here? Also she likes _okonomiyaki_ and _yakiniku_. Perhaps she would visit some restaurants that serve _okonomiyaki_ and _yakiniku_? Oh, and sports shops, especially the ones which have archery equipment," Mia told Conan everything she knew, "but I don't know which restaurant or shop she usually visits. I'm sorry I can't help much, Conan."

"It's fine, Mia- _san_. You already help much. I'm sure the police don't know any of these," Conan replied. "Do you know anything else, Mia- _san_?"

"Hmm... no. Other than those places, I can only think about our _dojo_. _Sensei_ really loves _kyudo_ —huh?" Mia suddenly stopped as if she remembered something. "That's right! Today is her birthday!"

"Huh? Really?" Conan was surprised.

"Yes." Mia nodded enthusiastically. "I heard from the other student that every birthday, _Sensei_ always stayed overnight in our _dojo_."

"Why?"

"It's a gift from the owner, Arata. They said that the number of students at the _dojo_ had increased ever since she began teaching there. Not only that, his _dojo_ also becomes well-known in foreign countries. Since the owner couldn't increase her payment to show his gratitude—because it wouldn't be fair to the other instructors—he decided to give _Sensei_ a gift. It is said that _Sensei_ asked him to allow her to stay overnight at the _dojo_ on her birthday every year, and the owner accepted it," Mia explained. "But it's such a pity, really, since today _Sensei_ is sick," she added sadly.

"So... if she's healthy, she would be in the _dojo_ right now?"

"Of course! That's what the other student told me."

"Why did she ask for something like that?"

"Because she loves _kyudo_ , obviously."

Conan was silent for a moment. He rubbed his chin, thinking deeply. ' _If Mizushima-_ sensei _is kidnapped, she wouldn't appear in Arata's_ dojo _, but if she isn't, then she may be hiding there. It's possible she noticed police officers' presence and if she truly noticed them, then it's possible she's trying to hide from them.'_ Conan looked at his wristwatch to check the time. _'The gym should have been closed by now and the police already looking for her there, so most likely they won't come back to the_ dojo _. If Mizushima-_ sensei _is really hiding from them, then for now the_ dojo _would be the best place to hide. Not to mention Arata had permitted her to sleep there, so most likely she have the_ dojo _'s spare key.'_

Conan grinned. Finally he knew exactly where to go. He drank the orange juice that Mia had prepared for him, thanked her, and then excused himself. He told Mia that he should tell the police about everything that she had told him. The boy rushed out of the hotel and once he was outside, he rode his skateboard toward Arata's gym.

As soon as he arrived at Arata's gym, Conan sneaked inside toward the _kyudojo._ He stole the key at the security post since the gym's door was locked; it was easier than he had thought before since the security officers seemed busy watching TV that they did not notice the boy coming in. When he finally arrived at the front door of the _dojo_ , Conan could hear a sound of an arrow hitting a target board. He heard the same sound repeatedly, indicating that someone was shooting arrows inside the _dojo_. Conan opened the door quietly, peeping inside. He saw a woman in _kyudo_ uniform there, practising _kyudo_ alone, and Conan knew very well who she was.

"I thought you were sick, Mizushima- _sensei_ ," Conan said without hesitation. The _kyudoka_ in front of him suddenly stopped shooting her arrows. She slowly turned toward the door, facing the bespectacled boy.

"Conan- _kun_ ," she said in surprise, yet amazingly she was still able to keep her calmness. "What are you doing here? Are you alone?"

"Looking for you, and yes, I'm alone," Conan answered. "You haven't been at home even though you left early today. The police have been looking for you for hours."

Lily smiled faintly. "How did you know that I'm here?"

"Mia- _san_ told me that today is your birthday and that you're always sleep here on your birthday."

"Ah... so she knows too," Lily responded lightly. She took one of the arrows and then shot it again with her bow, hitting the target board perfectly.

"Why did you lie, _Sensei_?" Conan asked.

"That I'm sick?" Lily asked back. "I'm really sick, Conan- _kun_. I'm sick of those people who have been spying on me lately."

Conan's eyes widened. _'She really knows that the police had been watching her,'_ he thought.

"Even you are spying on me, Conan- _kun_. That's why you're here tonight, am I right?"

Conan did not answer immediately. He stared at Lily who did not bother to face him. The _kyudoka_ kept looking at the target board, shooting her arrows again and again with her elegant movement.

"Why do you think so, _Sensei_?" the detective decided to ask back.

"Because you're Conan Edogawa, Kid Killer, the boy who lives with Sleeping Kogoro. I can guess that you're also involved in this game," Lily replied without looking at him. "When are you going to call them, Conan- _kun_?"

"Huh?" Conan was taken aback by the sudden question. "Who do you mean by them?"

"The spies, of course. Or are you here for different reason?"

" _Sensei_..." Conan was confused. Did she know that the police would arrest her? Did she know that he already knew her true identity? Why did she act so calm, so confident as if she had nothing to worry?

Conan sighed. Oh well, that was not important for now. There was something more important to do. He had to make Lily admitted her crime.

" _Sensei_ , why are you here?" he asked, not answering her question.

"You know why already. You said that Vasquez- _san_ told you about my birthday routine."

"But today's not even your birthday."

Lily turned her attention to the boy. "It is my birthday, Conan- _kun_."

"No," Conan persisted, "not your real birthday."

This time, the _kyudoka_ stared sharply at him. "What do you mean?"

"That's exactly what I mean. Today's not your real birthday, right, Mizushima- _sensei_?" Conan looked back at the instructor, "or should I say Adams- _sensei_?"

Lily froze.

"What.. did you just say?"

"Adams- _sensei_ ," Conan answered firmly. "You're Yuriko Adams, aren't you?"

Lily did not respond immediately. She just stood there, looking at Conan intently for a while before finally smiling softly at him. She sat on the floor, putting her bow and arrows beside her, then she politely gestured Conan to have a sit with her.

"Boy, we're going to have a long chat."

TBC

* * *

 **Aahh... finally I can publish this chapter. Finally, the end is near!**

 **Anyways, thank you very much for your support all this time, and again, I'm sorry for the little delay.**

 **Any comment? Feel free to leave a review!**


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: Magic Kaito and Detective Conan belong to Aoyama Gosho, but my OCs are mine.

 **Chapter 16**

 **Lily's Confession**

Dinner at TMPD building was something that Kaito did not like.

It all started with a call from Inspector Nakamori this afternoon. He told Aoko that tonight he would not be able to eat dinner at home since the police were quite busy with Arata's fraud and smuggling case. There were many things to do, he said, and that was why he could not have dinner at home. Ginzo also told Aoko that she did not have to prepare his dinner since he would come home pretty late. He told his daughter that he would have dinner at his office with his colleagues. When Aoko asked what he would have as a dinner tonight, the inspector answered that he had plenty of instant _ramen_ at his office. Perhaps he had not thought that his answer would make his daughter furious because Kaito saw with his own eyes how mad Aoko was when she heard that his father would have instant _ramen_ as his dinner.

The father and daughter quarreled quite long over the phone and Kaito could only watch it, half amused, half scared. He heard Aoko nagging about how unhealthy it was if his dad ate too much instant _ramen_. She was quite sure the inspector only had _ramen_ every time he could not have dinner at home these days. Finally, after a fierce quarrel over the phone, Aoko decided to deliver a _bento_ for Ginzo's dinner. She would not allow her father to eat instant _ramen_ again. He already had too much of it. Even better, she would have dinner with him at his office. Since Aoko had decided it, Kaito could not help but to follow her will, which was having dinner with the inspector at TMPD building. After all, Aoko was also the one who made dinner for him. That was why Kaito found himself walking side by side with Aoko inside TMPD building, down the corridors and up the elevator to get to Ginzo's office.

The police are his enemy and that was why Kaito really hated being in TMPD building. He saw police officers everywhere! He knew that they did not recognize him as Kaitou Kid and today was not the first day he went inside TMPD building, but still, the feeling of having his enemy being so close to him made him uneasy. The teen had to struggle to put his best poker face when he was inside the building, especially when he was in division 2's office. It was a good thing Ginzo decided to have dinner outside his office. They ended up having dinner somewhere inside the building but far enough from division 2's office and in his heart, Kaito was really grateful for that.

When they were having dinner together, Aoko stated that starting from that day, she would prepare a _bento_ for her father and deliver it to him if he could not have dinner at home since she did not want him to eat instant food too often. Actually, today was not the first day for Aoko to deliver a _bento_ for his dad, but lately she did not do that because Ginzo rarely at his office when he was busy taking care of Arata's crimes, thus making Aoko unable to deliver a _bento_ for him. This time Aoko was determined to deliver a _bento_ for her dad if he was at his office.

Ginzo did not mind with Aoko's decision. Actually, he really appreciated it, but Kaito nearly choked when he heard that because that meant he most likely would always have dinner at TMPD building as long as the inspector was unable to have dinner at home. The teen did not protest immediately, of course, since he did not want to hurt Ginzo's feeling, but he had planned to protest to Aoko later when they were on their way back home. When they were in the middle of dinner too Kaito noticed something unusual in the building.

"Wow, it seems the police are very busy tonight," Kaito commented when he noticed too many officers passing hastily around the building, talking to each other seriously as if they had serious matters to do. He also heard the siren of police cars somewhere outside the building, so something serious must have been occurred.

"Yeah, we're very busy, both division 1 and division 2. My division are busy digging Arata's crime while division 1 are busy chasing after the suspected sniper," Ginzo responded.

"Huh? They already have a suspect?"

"Yes, though I don't know the detail. Apparently they have lost their suspect, so they're in hectic situation now."

"You don't know who's the suspect, _Tou-san_?" Aoko asked.

"Yeah. Like I said, I don't know the detail. I only know recently that they have a suspect."

Kaito did not say anything. His mind was full of questions that he doubted Ginzo would be able to answer since the inspector claimed that he did not know the detail. Who was the suspect? Was that Lily Mizushima? Or Kenji Takenaka? Kaito had been suspecting Lily ever since he had discovered the _kyudoka_ 's true identity and recently he also suspected Takenaka after the teen had found out that the sniper who shot Kid at Aoboshi heist was not Lily. The suspect whom the police had lost could be one of them.

 _'How could the suspect escape from police's surveillance? Is_ Tantei-kun _also involved in this?'_ Kaito was very curious, but he did not now how to get answers for his questions since Ginzo did not seem to know and Kaito should not know anyone in division 1. Finally the teen decided to dismiss it. Whatever happened outside, he was sure _Tantei-kun_ and Yusaku would help the police and if they helped them, everything should be fine in the end.

Ginzo ate his dinner in hurry since he had so much work to do. After finishing his dinner, the inspector thanked Aoko and Kaito, then he rushed toward his office. Aoko did not look happy when her father leaving her like that, but she did not complain. She could understand that her father was very busy. Once she and Kaito had finished their own dinner, Aoko asked Kaito to stop by a convenience store on the way home because she needed to buy groceries for tomorrow's breakfast. The magician only nodded, did not really mind about it.

Kaito let Aoko shopping by herself in the convenience store while he himself decided to wait for her at a magazine stand outside the store. He was reading an _anime_ magazine when sudddenly he heard some people talking about something that interested him.

"That was the first time I've ever seen such a skateboard! Really!"

"Me too. That was one hell of a skateboard! So fast!"

"Yeah! And that boy—Good Lord! He's just a kid but he could ride on it like a stuntman!"

Kaito immediately stopped reading.

 _'_ _A fast skateboard? A boy?'_

Kaito only knew one skateboard and one person that could match such description.

"Excuse me, can you tell me more about that skateboard and that boy?" Kaito decided to ask further. A group of young men that were talking about it seemed excited when Kaito asked them to tell him the story.

"Yeah, dude! That skateboard can run as fast as a motorcycle and that boy was certainly very skilled in riding it! That was awesome!"

"That boy... how old is he? How does he look?"

"How old? I'm not sure, but he's just a little kid. Maybe around 6-7 years old. He was wearing glasses when I saw him."

"Oh." Kaito blinked. _'Oh.'_ A boy around 6-7 years old, wearing glasses, riding a very fast skateboard. _'_ Tantei-kun _. It should be him. What is he doing at this time?'_

"Where did you see that boy?" Kaito asked again, then the man pointed at a direction which Kaito knew very well that it was a direction toward Arata's gym. Kaito thanked that man, then he quickly left the magazine stand and approached Aoko who was still shopping in the convenience store. The teen asked her to hurry because he wanted to go home. He even helped her choosing food so that they could go home faster.

 _'_ _What the heck are you doing,_ Tantei-kun _?'_ the magician frantically thought as he walked fast toward his home with Aoko following him from behind, complaining and asking him to walk slower. How could he walk slower? He could not, not when he knew that his favorite critic probably was up to something serious like confronting a criminal alone. _Tantei-kun_ riding his skateboard alone in the night could mean exactly that because if that was not the case, the detective should be in the police's car right now, searching for the criminal with them. Kaito could not leave him alone now, could he? Technically, Conan was a child. It would be very dangerous for him if he confronted a criminal who clearly was an adult. Not to mention this criminal might be skilled in martial art too since this criminal probably was the sniper. Wolf or Lily, both of them should have no problem confronting a kid like _Tantei-kun_.

Kaito knew that Conan was not weak; he had Agasa's superb inventions with him, but still, with the criminal being a _kyudoka_ and former hunter or probably a strong man like Wolf—he was pretty muscular, so Kaito assumed he was trained in somekind of martial art too—the chance for Conan to win against them was fifty-fifty. It was clear that Kaito had to follow Conan to ensure his safety. That was why he was in hurry to his home. He needed to get Kid's weapons that he had left at home before he followed the detective.

 _'_ _Dammit,_ Tantei-kun _! You'd better stay safe until I get there!'_ Kaito grumbled mentally. He really did not like being trapped in this situation. Following Conan to confront a criminal was not something that he liked, but he had to do that if he wanted to ensure the boy's safety. Kaito blamed his fondness for _Tantei-kun_ that made him so concerned about the detective. The teen sighed in frustration.

 _'_ _I hate him so much.'_

~o0o~

Silence. The ticking of the clock was the only sound that could be heard in the entire _dojo_. Conan and Lily sat down on the wooden floor, staring at each other without making any sound. The boy kept staring, not wanting to turn his eyes to another way. He was waiting. He waited for Lily's reply. He had explained his deductions to her. He had told her how he managed to figure out her true identity without telling her anything related to Kid and his gift. He had told her his deduction about her being the sniper who had shot Yusaku and Victor Wood. He had told her his suspicion about her and Takenaka being partners in crime, that Takenaka could be the one who shot Kid at Aoboshi heist. He had asked her about the mysterious butler who had vanished without any trace. He had asked her who was the sniper who killed Arata. He had explained so much to her that he had the right to get her reply. Until he got her reply, Conan refused to turn his eyes to another way.

Lily did not show any expression. Her face was flat, full of nothingness even after she had heard Conan's deductions. She did not make any gesture, did not make any movement. Conan was amazed by her calmness, by her ability to control her emotion. After minutes of silence and battle of staring, the _kyudoka_ decided to close her eyes, ending the tension between her and the shrunken detective. She sighed before looking back at the bespectacled boy, this time with a soft smile on her face.

"You're right, I am Yuriko Adams," Lily admitted, "and yes, I killed Victor Wood and shot Yusaku Kudo, but I didn't kill Arata- _san_ , nor did I shoot Kid at Aoboshi heist, though I have to admit that I almost killed Arata- _san_ and had tried to kill Kid at Red Empress heist. Also, to answer your earlier question, I'm here for many reasons: To avoid police, to celebrate my 'birthday', and to enjoy myself with _kyudo_."

 _'_ _So she's the sniper who shot Kid that time,'_ Conan thought. "What do you mean you almost killed Arata- _san_? And why do you celebrate your fake birthday?"

"I don't really celebrate it, actually. More like I take it as a reminder of my life since today is the day when I became Lily Mizushima, the day I saw Lily's face after a plastic surgery," Lily answered. "And what do I mean that I almost killed Arata- _san_? The truth is Takenaka- _san_ asked me to kill him. I agreed with him because the police have found out about Arata- _san_ 's crime and if they captured him, my true identity and crimes would be at stake. Not to mention I also hate him so much, that's why I agreed to kill him. Takenaka- _san_ had arranged everything for me. He prepared a place for me to kill Arata- _san_ , he prepared the rifle. All I have to do was aiming the rifle at Arata- _san_ 's head and then shoot him," she explained lightly. "Arata- _san_ had a habit of waking up early and went to balcony to have some fresh air before his butler came to deliver his morning tea, so we waited for that moment. I spotted him through my scope when he was finally at the balcony. I only needed to pull the trigger to kill him, but in the end, I couldn't do that, no matter how much I hate him."

"Why?"

"Arata- _san_ —Uncle Yuudai—he was my mother's friend. He used to be the best uncle I'v ever had... he taught me _kyudo_ when I was young. When I remembered that, I just couldn't shoot him."

"But he died nonetheless," Conan stated.

"Yes. Takenaka- _san_ killed him. He was there too when I tried to shoot Uncle Yuudai and when he realized that I couldn't bring myself to shoot, he took the rifle from me and shot him. So, yes, Takenaka- _san_ and I used to be partners in crime until that day. We parted after he killed Uncle Yuudai."

"That means you didn't kill Takenaka- _san_ and he took the rifle with him?"

"Yes."

"Do you have a grudge against him after he killed Arata- _san_?"

"I don't even know how I should feel about his death. True, I don't want him to die, I don't want to kill him, but at the same time, I hate him so much," Lily smiled bitterly. "I'm not sure if I have a grudge against Takenaka- _san_ about it, but we parted in peace."

"You parted in peace?" Conan was surprised. "He didn't want to kill you?"

"Yes. He knows my love-hate relationship with Uncle Yuudai, so maybe he understood why I couldn't shoot Uncle Yuudai that time. He also knows that I don't want to get captured, which means I won't tell anybody about his crime because if I do that, my own crimes would be revealed."

"Oh... Do you still have contact with him?"

"No. That day was the last time we talked to each other. I have no idea where he is or what he's doing now."

"Then, do you know anything that could be a clue to his disappearence? Maybe a place where he would usually visit, or a fake identity he usually uses in hiding?"

"No, I don't know such things," Lily shook her head, "but he's quite good in disguising, like me, though we aren't as good as Kaitou Kid."

"You can disguise yourself? Takenaka- _san_ too?"

"Oh yes. Job demands, you know, since we both are criminals. I learn it mainly because I'm an assassin, but Takenaka- _san_ learns it because he often meets criminals as Uncle Yuudai's middle man."

"I see... So that's why you were able to get away from police surveillance," Conan responded. "That's why the police can't find Takenaka- _san_."

"Yeah. Seems they don't have much experience with disguise, not even a simple one. At this rate, they will never be able to catch Kid," Lily commented in amusement.

Conan laughed nervously in his mind. That was a true comment as he remembered that the police could not even distinguish between Kid's dummy and the true Kid. After that, the boy suddenly remembered another thing to ask. " _Sensei_ , why do you hate Arata- _san_?"

"Because he asked me to do dirty jobs for him, obviously," Lily answered bitterly. "He asked me to smuggle illegal drugs if I want to save my boyfriend. Harry was safe, but I still have to do that crime to pay my debt... The police found out about me eventually, but Uncle Yuudai saved me. I bet he did that only because he was afraid his own crimes would be revealed, but I went along with his plans to escape from the police. I was so afraid that time, I was blind, thinking that he was still the kind-hearted Uncle Yuudai whom I had known and that he only tried to save me, to give me freedom, but I was wrong. I changed my face, my name, my identity, only to find myself as his slave. He ordered me to kill people and if I refuse, he would threaten me that he would kill my dad—oh, yes, he was very sure when he said that—he hated my dad so much. I love my dad—I don't want him to die! That's why I obeyed Uncle Yuudai. I started to kill people under his order two years ago. Yes, I admit I was so stupid. I should never asked for his help in the first place... I should never agreed to his term when I borrowed money from him."

"You've killed someone else other than Victor Wood?" Conan asked in disbelief.

"That's right. I had killed another three people before I killed Mr. Wood. I almost killed Kudo- _san_ , almost killed Kid, almost killed Uncle Yuudai, but I'm glad I didn't kill them," Lily replied.

 _'_ _Speaking of_ Tou-san _...'_ "Say, _Sensei_ , when Yusaku- _san_ got shot, people said that you were in this _dojo_ , so how did you manage to shoot him?"

"I shoot him from here, from this building, in my breaktime," Lily answered. "I only needed to shoot. Everything else was already prepared by Takenaka- _san_ and Uncle Yuudai. People in this _dojo_ already knew that I wouldn't go anywhere during my breaktime, unlike most of them who usually will go out to have their lunch. You see, I always eat inside the gym since I usually bring my own _bento_. They know my habits here. That's why when the police asked my alibi, I could just tell them that I was here and nobody in this gym seemed to disagree with me. Besides, I also already told the police that Vasquez- _san_ was training with me when Kudo- _san_ got shot and again, that time no one seemed to disagree."

"You actually weren't here when Yusaku- _san_ got shot. You weren't in this _dojo_. You also weren't with Mia- _san_ ," Conan said when he realized the meaning behind Lily's answer. "You only said that to protect your alibi by pretending to try to protect Mia- _san_ 's alibi."

Lily smiled faintly. "Yes," she admitted. "And it worked so far. Even the students and the other employees finally tried to protect her too even though they actually didn't see her when Kudo- _san_ got shot. Ah, they really trust me! They thought I had a noble heart! So, you see, Conan- _kun_ , my alibi became perfect just like that." Lily laughed for a moment before suddenly she sighed and then shook her head. "Poor Vasquez- _san_... She was always alone because she couldn't understand Japanese. People here were too shy to talk with her. During that time, no one wanted to accompany her even though that time all of us were having a breaktime. She told me that actually that time she was practicing alone even though we were all supposed to have a break. She thanked me many times just because I lied to the police about me being with her when the shot happened. She doesn't know that I only took advantage of her."

"What about Arata- _san_ 's and Takenaka- _san_ 's alibi? That time they were said to visit the gym and watch Mia- _san_ 's practice. Is that true?"

"Oh, yes, that one is true. They indeed watched Vasquez- _san_ before our breaktime. They were truly in this gym. Their alibi is true."

"I see... So that's what truly happened," Conan responded. _'Added with the location of this gym which is quite far from the crime scene... of course the police wouldn't suspect the shot to be aimed from here. Besides, the only suspect in here that time was Mia-_ san _. The police certainly would only focus on her.'_ "But, _Sensei_ , can you really shoot from here? This place is pretty far from the crime scene, right?" the boy asked again.

"Of course," Lily nodded. "I'm a very skilled sniper. Not even Takenaka- _san_ can beat me even though he's also able to use rifle. Kudo- _san_ was lucky since I couldn't aim at his head that time; too many leaves blocking his head from my eyes. I had to aim at his chest instead, and my hands weren't steady—I was afraid of killing him—and that's why he's still alive now."

 _'_ _Leaves? I see. That time_ Tou-san _was walking under the trees.'_ "After that shot, did you plan to kill him again?"

"No. Uncle Yuudai seemed to give up on him. He said that he had another important job to do."

"Important job?"

"Yes, but he didn't tell me about it."

"Oh... _Sensei_ , you said that Arata- _san_ hated your father. Why?" the detective asked again.

"Because my mother married him. Uncle Yuudai loved my mother, you see, but my mother loved my father."

"Did he hate you too?"

"I'm not sure. Perhaps he hated me because I'm my father's daughter, but I think he couldn't hate me so much since I'm my mother's daughter too. True, he ordered me to do many crimes, but he also had taken care of me well enough. He gave me job, he gave me home... I guess he also had a love-hate relationship with me."

"Is that so..." Conan nodded his head slowly. "Anyway, if Takenaka- _san_ is the sniper who had killed Arata- _san_ , then perhaps the sniper at Aoboshi heist really is him. _Sensei_ , do you have any idea if Takenaka- _san_ had planned to kill Kid?"

Lily shook her head. "No, I never thought he would try to kill Kid although Uncle Yuudai ordered me to kill him once; that was part of the important job I have told you before, Conan- _kun_. I only realized it when he ordered me to kill Kid. Maybe Takenaka- _san_ truly is afraid of Kid. After all, he had met him face to face once."

"Takenaka- _san_ had met Kid?"

"Yes, under Uncle Yuudai's order. They had preposition for Kid, but it seemed Kid refused their offer because soon after their meeting, I was ordered to kill Kid," Lily explained.

"Wait, were you there at their meeting?" Conan asked curiously.

"Yes, to kill Kid if something went wrong, though I'm not the only one that time. Takenaka- _san_ brought some of Uncle Yuudai's men for the same reason, but even so, Kid still managed to escape."

"So... you had tried to kill Kid twice, then?"

"Correct."

 _'_ _So that's true. Arata truly offered something to Kid, but he didn't directly meet Kid. He ordered Takenaka to become his mediator,'_ Conan thought, then he asked Lily again, " _Sensei_ , do you know what was it that Takenaka- _san_ offered to Kid?"

"No. I told you before, didn't I? They didn't tell me anything about that 'important job'. They only told me to stay on guard and kill Kid if they ordered me to," Lily answered.

"So that means that you don't know why Arata- _san_ wanted to kill Kid?"

"Yes."

"Then do you know why Arata- _san_ wanted to kill Victor Wood and Yusaku Kudo?"

"I'm not sure. Uncle Yuudai seemed very wary when it came to them, maybe because they often capture criminals. They almost caught me too."

Conan was silent for a moment before finally he asked with more serious tone, " _Sensei_ , do you know someone called Wolf?"

"No."

"What about Eric Wu? Do you know anything about him?"

"Eric Wu, huh?" Lily smiled a little. "Uncle Yuudai had had some businesses with him and I worked with his followers as a smuggler. Based on what I've heard, Uncle Yuudai and Eric Wu had worked together quite long before Eric Wu was imprisoned. Uncle called him Black Fox, his codename in crime world. Not many people know it."

"Black Fox..." Conan was stunned. Now he had another important information. Eric Wu was also called Black Fox in crime world. Only criminals could know it. Perhaps Kid also knew it?

Conan drew a deep breath and let it out slowly, half relieved, half nervous. He was relieved that Lily admitted her crime and gave him informations so easily, but he was also nervous because of that. Why did Lily easily admit her crime and give him informations? Was not she afraid of getting caught?

"Why are you telling me all of this, _Sensei_? Aren't you afraid of getting caught?" the boy finally asked.

"You already know the truth, Conan- _kun_ , and the police already suspect me. Sooner or later they'll arrest me. Besides, I'm tired of being someone else. I want to return to my real self," Lily smiled.

"Then why are you here? Why are you running away from the police?"

"Because maybe today will be the last time I can have this _dojo_ for myself. Once the police capture me, I'll have to leave this place. I'm going to miss this _dojo_ , the students... I may have to leave before I could finish teaching Vasquez- _san_. I really have to apologize to her."

" _Sensei_..." Conan was stunned. Lily, although she had killed many people, was not a bad person. Her crimes could not make Conan disrespect her. The boy actually felt sad when he looked at her. Lily had a terrible life all this time, killing people she did not know, doing crimes outside her will, living under control of a horrible person like Yuudai Arata. She was very unlucky, yet still shining as a _kyudoka_ , as a teacher of _kyudo_. She had not given up on her life. Conan was amazed by her.

Suddenly Conan saw a change on Lily's expression. She suddenly tensed. Her face was becoming serious. The _kyudoka_ stood up, grabbing her bow and arrows as she looked at the front door with her sharp eyes.

"Conan- _kun_ , hide behind me," Lily told the boy with her eyes still looking at the door. Conan was perplexed by the sudden command, but he obeyed her.

"What's wrong, _Sensei_?" the boy asked, half curious, half worried. Lily did not answer. She kept looking at the door. Her hands moved slowly and quietly, making a stance of shooting an arrow.

"I know you're there. Show yourself!" Lily shouted at the door. After a while, Conan could hear a sound of footsteps followed by a sound of the door being opened. True to Lily's words, someone indeed was there, hiding behind the door, and Conan was shocked when he saw that person.

"As expected of you, Lily. Still sharp as usual," that person greeted Lily, smirking.

"I don't recall having an appointment with you here," the _kyudoka_ replied, not letting her guard down.

Conan did not know what to say. He never thought he would meet that person now, that man who had vanished mysteriously. And he met him here, in Arata's _dojo_ , when the detective only expected Lily as his companion tonight.

Kenji Takenaka.

TBC

* * *

 **Readers, I'm sorry again for the delay. Lately I've been having laziness when it comes to typing, though it's not writer's block, since I know what I want to write. It's just that I was too lazy to think, too lazy to type. Not to mention my real job is making me quite depressed these days. I hope this won't affect the other upcoming chapters *sigh*, so please forgive meee...**

 **Thank you for your time, your favs, follows, and reviews. Thank you for supporting me. I'll do my best to overcome my laziness! See you in the next chapter!**

 **By the way, review please.**


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: Detective Conan and Magic Kaito belong to Aoyama Gosho.

 **Chapter 17**

 **Case Closed**

"Why are you here?" Lily asked Kenji warily, her eyes looked sharply at him.

"What's with that unwelcome attitude? Is this how you greet an old friend?" Kenji asked back, looking unpleasant.

"Answer me. Why are you here?" the _kyudoka_ pressed, ignoring Kenji's question. Conan stood silently behind her, observing the situation carefully.

"Oh, fine. You're so unfriendly," Kenji sighed. "I'm here because today's your birthday. Of course I should congratulate you, shouldn't I?"

"Liar," Lily immediately accused him. "You never care about my birthday. You never come to congratulate me. Why don't you tell me the truth?"

"Oh, but I really intend to do that now, Lily. Congratulation on your birthday," Kenji smirked.

"That isn't all, is it? What exactly do you want?"

"What's this? Not even a simple thanks?"

"I don't need a congratulation on my fake birthday," Lily retorted. "Stop trying to change the topic. What do you want?"

"Geez, you're so boring... fine, frankly, I'm here to pick you up," Kenji answered.

"Pick me up for what?"

"I want to take you with me, to begin a new life. You can't stay here forever with all of this mess."

"You're planning to run away with me?"

"Correct," Kenji nodded, then he glanced at a boy behind Lily, "but it seems we have a problem here. That boy knows too much."

"You're not going to touch him," Lily said sternly.

"Then you'll be the one who touch him, Lily," Kenji replied lightly. "I know you've told him everything about us. I overheard a bit of your conversation with him. You can't escape like this, Lily. That boy could endanger you. Don't you want to have freedom?"

"Of course I want freedom."

"Then kill him with your arrow."

Conan tensed. He immediately prepared to shoot his tranquilizer dart. He paid attention to Lily and Kenji; he did not know if Lily was on his side or not and if the _kyudoka_ turned out to be on Kenji's side, then the detective should shoot her.

"I'm done killing people, Takenaka- _san_ ," Lily replied.

"Right. Of course you have a trauma after I killed your uncle," Kenji sighed. "No problem. I'll kill him."

"I told you before, didn't I? You're not going to touch him," Lily stated, and hearing that was enough for Conan to sigh in relief. Now he knew that Lily was on his side. He only needed to think about Kenji.

"What's wrong with you? You said you wanted freedom. I'm trying to give you freedom here!" Kenji argued, looking unhappy with the _kyudoka_ 's reply.

"No, you're not. I'm not going to spend my life as another person again, I won't spend my life as your slave, just like what Uncle Yuudai had done to me. I won't make the same mistake, Takenaka- _san_ ," Lily replied firmly.

"You're not yourself, Lily. I'm not trying to make you as my slave! I only want to save you!"

"Will you please stop these lies? How can I trust you, Takenaka- _san_ , when you still have to hunt Kaitou Kid? You're going to drag me into your murder plan," Lily chuckled. "Though I have to ask you, why did you shoot him? Are you that afraid of him only because he had seen you once?"

"Because he knows too much even though we only met once. He's a threat to us, Lily. I'm doing this for you too."

"No, you're digging your own grave," Lily stated. "Enough of this talk. I'm not going with you and I won't let you kill Conan- _kun_." The _kyudoka_ stood firmly in front of Conan with her bow and arrow pointed at Kenji. Meanwhile, now Conan was sure there would be no more talk, no more negotiation, and no more information. The detective was ready to shoot his tranquilizer dart and took his chance when Kenji was not paying attention to him, only to realize soon that his effort was to no avail. The dart failed to hit Kenji when the man suddenly moved, evading it unconsciously. Then he took out his gun, pointing it at Lily.

 _'_ _Damn!'_ the detective cursed mentally. He only had one dart. Now it would become harder for him and Lily to disarm Kenji. An arrow was not a match for a bullet.

"Very well. I've seen that you won't come with me," Kenji said. "Such a shame. I'll have to kill you too, Lily."

"You'd better not. The police will soon arrive here. You will lose your chance to escape," Lily responded calmly without letting her guard down. She did not lower her hands, still threatening Kenji with her arrow even though the man also threatened her with his gun.

"This gun is better at killing than your arrow and you know that I'm a great marksman. Killing the two of you will only require less than five minutes," Kenji smirked. "Now, why don't we start with you, Lily? Of course, you don't have to die if you change your mind now. I'm still listening."

"You underestimate me already? You're not the only marksman here," Lily smirked back.

"Yes, yes, I know you're a marksman too, a great sniper, even, but you know very well your arrow doesn't match with my gun. Think again, Lily. You won't be able to win this time."

Lily was silent for a moment, then she sighed in defeat. "Yeah, maybe you're right," she said, but then her expression once again turned serious, "but that doesn't mean I will let you kill any of us so easily."

Suddenly, in an instant an arrow was shot toward Kenji, injured his upper arm. The butler groaned and shot his gun at Lily. Lily quickly dodged it, grabbing Conan in hurry. They quickly hid behind a wall to avoid getting shot.

"Conan- _kun_ ," she whispered softly that Conan almost could not hear her, "I'm going to buy you some time. Run and hide as soon as you have a chance, got it?"

"Huh?" Conan whispered back, quite taken aback by Lily's words.

"Just do it. Run as far as you can. When you're safe enough, please call the police."

Conan looked at the _kyudoka_ who looked back at him with a determined expression. Finally the boy nodded slowly, noticing that they did not have any better option. To disarm Kenji completely, one of them must be free from the man. Conan had a better chance to hide from Kenji. Not only that, he also had contact with the police. That was why Conan had to be free, safe from the former butler. The boy was worried though, since that meant he had to leave Lily alone, but he decided to trust the _kyudoka_ and do what he had to do.

Lily looked at Conan with a meaningful gaze, a silent sign that told him that she would soon make her move. The boy sharpened his eyes and mind, ready to run anytime he had the chance. Lily moved her hands slowly, preparing a stance to shoot as her eyes glanced at Kenji who now was walking slowly toward them.

"Hey, Lily, you can't hide forever!" he shouted, grinning murderously. Lily took a deep breath, preparing herself to shoot her arrow once again as Conan waited for his chance to run. The _kyudoka_ finally jumped out of her hiding place, quickly shot some arrows to Kenji to distract him. Her plan worked as now Kenji aimed his gun at her, tried to shoot her many times, but the _kyudoka_ was quite agile to avoid all the bullets. Seeing his chance, Conan ran toward the front door of _dojo_ as Lily finally was able to shoot her arrow precisely at Kenji's fingers that gripped his gun, throwing the gun far from his hand. Kenji was angry. He immediately ran after Conan as he realized the boy would call for help. He tried to catch him, but his steps were stopped by Lily's sudden arrows which landed in front of him. Conan made it through the door. He managed to get outside safely.

"Lily, you bastard..." Kenji growled furiously, glaring at the _kyudoka_ as he turned his body to face her.

"Where are you going, Takenaka- _san_?" Lily asked coldly. She stood still with her hands aiming another arrow at Kenji, her face was once again full of nothingness. "Your opponent is me."

~o0o~

Conan panted as he reached a corridor far enough from the _kyudojo_. The corridor was quite hidden since it was a corridor to engineering room. The detective caught his breath, then he took out his cellphone from his pocket, dialing Takagi's number. He waited impatiently and when Takagi's voice finally was heard on the other end, the boy sighed in relief.

"Detective Takagi, I need your help," he told the police officer immediately. "Please come to the _kyudojo_ in Arata Gymnasium. Hurry!"

 _"_ _What happened, Conan-_ kun _?"_ Takagi asked in bewilderment.

"Mizushima- _sensei_ is here with Takenaka- _san_! Hurry! They're fighting right now."

 _"_ _Mizushima-_ sensei _—you mean Lily Mizushima? With Kenji Takenaka?"_ Takagi sounded surprised.

"Yes! Hurry! Takenaka- _san_ has a gun and he wants to kill Mizushima- _sensei_!" the boy urged.

 _"_ _What?!"_ now Takagi was shocked. _"I-I see. Alright, we'll be there soon. Conan-_ kun, _don't do anything dangerous. Just wait for us there."_

"I got it. Just hurry up, please."

 _"_ _Yes. Don't worry."_

Conan ended the call after hearing that Takagi and the police would be coming soon. Now he only needed to worry about Lily's safety. He should return to _kyudojo_ to help Lily. There was no way he would only wait for the police when the k _yudoka_ 's life was in danger. The boy was about to run toward the _dojo_ when suddenly his phone vibrated, telling him that someone was calling him. Conan was surprised to see Haibara's name appeared on the screen. The boy quickly picked up the call.

 _"_ _Edogawa-_ kun _, you're inside the gym, aren't you?"_ the shrunken scientist immediately asked him.

"Y-yeah... wait, how did you know?" Conan asked back in surprise.

 _"_ _I use the spare tracking glasses to track you, obviously."_

"But why are you tracking me?"

 _"_ _Yukiko-_ san _asked Subaru-_ san _to follow you, so he came to Professor's house to borrow the tracking glasses. He also told us about Mizushima-_ sensei _who probably is the sniper, that's why Professor and I chose to tag along with him since we know her better than him, and so here we are now, exactly in front of Arata Gymnasium. Subaru-_ san _and Professor are trying to convince the security that you're inside the gym, if you want to know,"_ Ai explained, _"but that's not important now. What are you doing there?"_

"Listen, Haibara, Lily Mizushima and Kenji Takenaka are here," Conan replied. Actually he was quite annoyed by the fact that his mother asked Subaru to follow him, but he decided to dismiss it since there was another important thing he needed to explain to the shrunken scientist. "They are fighting now, Takenaka tries to kill Mizushima- _sensei_. You shouldn't come here, Haibara. It's dangerous. Stay outside with Professor and Subaru- _san_. Wait for the police. I've called them to come here."

 _"_ _Hold on, are you saying you're with them now?"_ Ai sounded worried.

"No, I'm hiding to call the police. Mizushima- _sensei_ buys me some time," Conan replied. "Anyway, just stay outside. Don't come here."

 _"_ _What about you?"_

"I'm going to help Mizushima- _sensei_. Don't worry, you know that I have my own weapon."

 _"_ _You sure you can handle this by yourself?"_

"I'm not alone. I'm with Mizushima- _sensei_. She's strong."

 _"_ _Yes, but are you sure you two will be alright?"_

"Well, it isn't like we have any better option. After all, Takenaka has a gun with him and he's a skilled marksman. Haibara, he's the one who killed Arata. The security probably won't be able to stop him, but perhaps Mizushima- _sensei_ could since she's a skilled _kyudoka_ and a sniper. Besides, I'm going to help her, so we have a better chance to defeat Takenaka," Conan explained. "Oh, right, if you want to convince them about me being here, tell them that they've lost their spare key. I took it to enter the gym. And of course—"

 _"_ _Don't let them get inside. I got it,"_ Ai interrupted, then she sighed. She did not like it when Conan decided to pursue danger alone like this, but a fight between a professional _kyudoka_ and a skilled marksman in a _kyudojo_ was not something that a mere security could handle. That fight could kill them all with the probability of arrows and bullets being fired in all directions. Ai had to agree that she and the others had to stay outside and wait for the police. They truly did not have any better option. _"Just be careful, Edogawa-_ kun _. I'll explain the situation to Professor and Subaru-_ san _,"_ the scientist finally said.

"Yeah. Thanks, Haibara. I'm counting on you," Conan replied and after that, he hung up immediately. The detective then ran toward the _dojo_ to help Lily. Takagi's advice could not stop him to help the _kyudoka_. There was no time to waste. The boy was so worried since Lily's opponent was dangerous. He needed to help her. He could not let her die. He could not let anybody die. He did not want anymore victim.

As soon as he opened the door to the _dojo_ , Conan was frightened. He saw Lily fighting against Kenji in hand-to-hand combat. Both of them fought in close range without any weapon. Seeing them fighting like that, Conan could deduce that Lily had lost her bow and arrows in the middle of the fight, most likely because Kenji took it from her by force. Conan could see that the _kyudoka_ was also skilled in hand-to-hand combat, but the detective could also see that she was no better than Kenji when fighting without any weapon. Lily was hit many times and she was becoming weaker, and then suddenly Kenji kicked her so hard that she was slammed into the wall; Conan stared at her in horror as he saw with his eyes that Lily tried so hard only to get up again. She could not win this fight.

 _'_ _Shit!'_ Conan cursed mentally, then he used his belt to make a soccer ball, kicking it as hard as he could with his super shoe toward Kenji when the man was moving closer to Lily, ready to finish her for good. The ball only hit Kenji's arm because he realized it and immediately dodged it. Kenji looked at Conan in annoyance as he held his injured arm.

"Brat, you're making the wrong decision by coming back here," Kenji said annoyingly as he walked toward the boy. Conan just stood still. He knew he could not use his ball anymore when Kenji's attention was focused on him. The man would only dodge it again, but that did not mean the shrunken detective just gave up easily. He was actually buying time for Lily to grab her weapon. As the butler kept walking, Conan could see the _kyudoka_ moved slowly in pain behind the man, reaching for a bow and an arrow with her last strength, but Kenji suddenly ran toward another direction, grabbing his gun which previously was laying on the floor. This sudden act made both Conan and Lily surprised; the boy quickly kicked his last ball while the _kyudoka_ immediately shot her arrow, both were trying to stop Kenji from getting his gun, but their efforts was to no avail. The butler managed to get back his gun. Conan's ball hit his shoulder and Lily's arrow scratched his forearm, but those injuries would not be enough to stop him from shooting his gun. A bullet darted toward Lily, scratching her shoulder. Lily winced in pain as she held her injured shoulder while Conan looked at her in fear. If the _kyudoka_ did not try to dodge the shot, right now the bullet might already be in her neck.

"Heh, I know you'll try to shoot me, Lily," the butler smirked as he pointed his gun at her. "But it seems your effort is meaningless now since the boy comes back here." He turned his gun toward Conan who looked at him warily. "I can see you have a dangerous thing with you, boy. I guess I have to kill you first."

Suddenly another arrow darted toward Kenji, almost hit his chin. The man turned his head, looking at Lily who looked back at him angrily.

"You wouldn't dare," she hissed, aiming another arrow at him, still determined to protect Conan even though she herself could barely stand up.

"Fine. I'll kill you first. You almost die anyways," Kenji replied, now pointing his gun back at the _kyudoka_. " _Sayonara_ , Yuriko."

"NO!" Conan shouted, running as fast as he could toward the butler, trying to stop him from killing Lily, but deep in his heart, he knew he would not make it even if he jumped. He could not use anything as a weapon; there was nothing useful around him. The boy was so frightened, panicked when he saw the man pulled the trigger, when he realized that he would soon see the true death of Yuriko Adams, but suddenly he saw the gun was thrown away from Kenji's grasp. The shot missed, only scratched Lily's arm. The _kyudoka_ winced in pain once again, losing her strength to stand up and fell. Conan quickly ran to her side, trying to help her.

" _Sensei_ , are you okay?"

"Yeah, I guess... It's just a scratch..." Lily answered weakly. Now that Conan looked at her closely, he noticed that Lily was very pale. She could barely move, so no doubt she had many injuries all over her body. Conan was worried about her, but now he also was worried about something else. Someone had just intervened the fight. The detective looked at Takenaka who groaned in pain as he held his own fingers. The boy also noticed that the gun once again was laying on the floor not far from a card—

 _'_ _A card?'_ Conan's eyes widened when he saw that card and his head jerked when suddenly he heard a familiar voice.

"Well well, that's not a very nice thing to do, Takenaka- _san_ , pointing a gun at a lady and a child."

Conan quickly turned around to see the new visitor. A man in white walked elegantly toward them, smirking at the butler. He stopped right in front of Conan and Lily, his back facing them as if he wanted to shield them from Takenaka.

"Kaitou Kid," Kenji stated as he looked at the thief angrily.

"K-Kid?" Lily gaped, looking up at the thief's back in disbelief.

"Why are you here?" Conan asked Kid in bewilderment.

"Let's just say that I've been kinda following you, _Tantei-kun_ ," Kid winked at the boy, then he looked back at Takenaka. "It's nice to meet you again, Takenaka- _san_ , or should I say Wolf- _san_?"

This time Takenaka glared at Kid furiously while Conan was half surprised, half shocked. Wolf? Takenaka was Wolf, the man whom Eric Wu had known? The man who had worked with the smuggler years ago? Then did that mean things that Arata and Takenaka had offered to Kid were something related to Eric Wu? Did that mean they truly asked Kid to release Eric Wu? If that was the case, then the prisoner that perhaps would be targeted all this time was really Eric Wu!

"Hmph, seeing you here too is even better, Kid. Now I don't have to search hard for you," the butler smirked back at the thief.

"Ah, so you intend to kill me here with this little boy and the lady? You'd better give up," Kid responded calmly, pointing his card gun at Takenaka. "You don't have your gun now, but I have mine. Besides, the police are on their way here. You don't have much time."

"Huh, the same goes for you, Kid. The police will be glad to arrest you."

"Of course, but they're coming here to arrest you, not me, and I'm very skilled in escaping, unlike you," Kid replied.

"Then I'll make sure that you won't be able to escape," Takenaka grinned murderously before suddenly he moved fast toward the thief. Kid shot his cards many times to stop him, careful so that the cards only scratched him and not seriously wounded him, but the butler was so strong and fast; the thief's sharp cards could not stop him.

"Kid! You're going to die!" Takenaka exclaimed as he was becoming closer to the thief. Kid just stood still there, making Conan and Lily panicked.

"What are you doing? Move!" Conan panickly warned the thief.

"Hmm... what a monster... Oh well, I guess I really have no choice," the thief commented, seemingly ignoring the detective's desperate words. Suddenly a smoke bomb exploded around them all, blinding Conan from everything around him.

 _'_ _Dammit, Kid! Do you really have to do this?'_ the boy hated being unable to see. He could only see Lily beside him, also seemed to have a problem with her sight. Not long after that, the detective could hear some voices and curses and a few minutes later when the smoke was becoming faint and his sight was becoming clearer, the detective could see that the butler was tied up to a pillar with invisible wire, growling furiously. Meanwhile, Kid calmly removed his thermal night vision goggles from his eyes; that was how he managed to see through the thick smoke.

"Don't underestimate me," Kid smirked coldly at Takenaka. "You clearly made mistake by trying to kill me, Wolf- _san_. You should have just ignored me. You and Arata should never asked my help in the first place, even more when your sniper had just tried to kill Yusaku Kudo! So careless!" the thief laughed, then suddenly a sound of siren was heard from the outside. "Looks like the police have arrived. I guess I should take my leave now," the thief added. He turned to Conan and Lily, walking toward them. As soon as he was in front of them, the thief knelt down and kissed Lily's hand.

"Please forgive my lateness in aiding you, _Ojou-san_. To think that such a beautiful lady like you have to fight so hard... I am really sorry," Kid said apologetically, making the _kyudoka_ quite surprised by the sudden courtesy. Conan only facepalmed watching that scene, but his expression changed immediately when Kid turned to look at him.

" _Tantei-kun_ , I'll leave the rest to you," the thief smiled.

"Yeah, thanks for helping us," Conan nodded.

"I only repay your kindness," Kid winked at the detective once again and Conan only smiled in return. He understood what the thief was trying to say: he helped them because Conan had helped the thief in capturing the perpetrator that had tried to kill him.

"Well then, good night, _Ojou-san_ ," Kid bowed politely, then he tugged the front brim of his hat as he grinned at his rival, "and until next time, _Tantei-kun_."

"Yeah," Conan nodded once again, grinning back at him. After that, the phantom thief walked away from them, exiting the _dojo_ and was never seen again. Soon after that, the police came into the _dojo_ , quickly arresting Takenaka and taking Lily to the ambulance. Meanwhile, Conan reunited with Agasa, Ai, and Subaru before he had to give his testimony to the police about everything that had happened inside the _dojo_ that night. After that, the boy walked toward the ambulance to check up on Lily who was now getting a first aid for her injuries.

"How are you feeling, _Sensei_?" Conan asked.

"Painful, but I'll manage," the _kyudoka_ smiled faintly. "Thank you, Conan- _kun_ , for coming back to help me, though that was pretty dangerous for you and I'll never recommend it."

"I should be the one who thanked you, _Sensei_. You fought bravely only to buy me some time to call the police. If I wasn't able to call them, maybe both of us wouldn't have survived," Conan replied. "I'm glad I've trusted you, _Sensei_ ," he added gently.

"What do you mean by that?" Lily asked.

"I believe you didn't kill Arata- _san_ , I believe despite what you've done, you didn't do it on your own will, and you really didn't, so I'm glad I've trusted you."

Lily looked stunned for a moment, then she smiled. "Thank you for trusting me, Conan- _kun_. I'm grateful for that."

Conan smiled back. When he heard Haibara's voice calling him to go home, the boy bid his farewell to Lily, then he walked toward the shrunken scientist. Conan was relieved. Lily and Kid were safe. Yusaku would not get any sniper threat outside his house anymore. Takenaka had been arrested and soon Lily too would be arrested after getting treatment for her injuries. Finally, it all ended. The case was finally closed.

"You know, we saw Kid flying towards the gym," Ai said when the detective finally was close enough to hear her.

"Huh? Really?"

"Yes. Subaru- _san_ was almost going to follow you inside when we saw that thief," Ai nodded her head.

"Wait, I told you to keep everyone outside."

"I know, but Subaru- _san_ didn't want to hear me. He agreed that Professor and I had to stay outside, but he said that he himself would go inside to help you. He only changed his mind when he saw Kid. I guess he was sure Kid would help you and therefore his help wouldn't be needed anymore."

"I see..." Conan was stunned for a moment, then he looked up at the night sky only to find the crescent moon shining dimly. The moon looked as if it was grinning at him, reminding him of a grin of a certain phantom thief. The detective smiled softly. There were many things he wanted to ask the thief. When they finally met again in the future, he wanted to have a chat with him. He wanted to talk about this sniper case with him and thank him properly for his help. After all, Conan knew that he was indebted to Kid this time and he really have to return his debt if he wanted to capture the thief without having to feel guilty. Thinking about this made the detective sighed. If only the phantom thief was not so kind-hearted like this, he could easily chase him without having to feel indebted or guilty.

 _'_ _Why do you have to be so kind, Kid?'_ Conan sighed fondly as he walked with Haibara toward Subaru's car. "Geez... what a troublesome thief..."

~o0o~

* * *

 **Dear readers, I'm sorry, very sorry for the long delay. I've been busy with my own life. Even now I'm still struggling hard to get along with my job. I didn't really have the time to read fanfic, let alone write it. I'm so sorryyyy...**

 **In any case, I've updated this story for now. And this is the end but not the end. I plan to publish the epilogue after this, not sure when I can do that. Sorry again, readers...**

 **Thank you very much for your patience all this time. Thank you very much for your favs, follows, and reviews. I really appreciate it. Thanks a lot! Hopefully the epilogue will come out soon. See you later!**

 **As usual, review please :)**


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan and Magic Kaito.

 **Epilogue**

Kaitou Kid stood silently on the rooftop, examining a jewel in his hand under the moonlight. A few meters down the building, Kid task force were busy chasing the dummy Kid which was flying away from the museum where Kid had stolen the jewel, giving an opportunity for the real phantom thief to take his sweet time admiring the beauty of Bellatrix. The blue diamond was indeed beautiful, but Kid did not find the Pandora in it.

"Not this one too, huh," he muttered before putting the diamond inside his pocket. He was about to jump off the building, ready to fly, when suddenly he heard a familiar voice.

"If that's not the jewel you're looking for, you should give it back to me."

The thief turned his head to see the owner of the voice. When he spotted the mini detective standing in front of the rooftop door, Kid grinned.

"I almost thought you wouldn't come here to send me off, _Tantei-kun_ ," the thief greeted the boy amusedly.

"Do you really think I would follow the police, chasing a dummy?" Conan responded with a flat expression, then he stretched out his hand to the thief, "give it back. Now."

Kid smirked as he took out Bellatrix from his pocket, tossing and catching it repeatedly in front of his favorite critic. "Since you already know that this isn't my target, how long have you been watching me, _Tantei-kun_?"

"Long enough for me to notice it. I was watching you silently behind the door. Now, give it back," the boy demanded.

"Oh, watching me secretly, huh? How unusual," Kid commented, still did not want to give the jewel to Conan. "Why, may I ask?"

"Just to buy some time," Conan answered nonchalantly. "After all, the police might notice that you're here if I appeared in front of you right after I had reached the rooftop."

"Huh? Wouldn't that be good for you? Don't you want to catch me?" Kid blinked, confused with the boy's answer.

"Yeah, but not now. That's why I have to keep them chasing after your dummy," Conan replied, then he jerked his outstretched hand demandingly to the thief. "The jewel, Kid. Give it to me."

"Not so fast, _Tantei-kun_ ," Kid responded, watching the detective curiously as he stopped tossing the jewel. "But maybe I'll give it to you if you tell me why you don't want to catch me this time," he added.

"Seriously, you're so troublesome." Conan sighed, lowering his hand. "Fine. Actually I'm planning to tell you eventually, since that's also my reason for attending this heist."

"Oh, really?" Kid raised his eyebrows, quite surprised by the boy's statement. He knew that Conan usually only attended Jirokichi's heist, but right now the boy actually also came to Bellatrix heist, a heist which had nothing to do with Jirokichi and moreover, it was held outside Tokyo. At first, the phantom thief was not really bothered by this fact since Conan also attended Aoboshi heist. Aoboshi and Bellatrix originally belonged to Yuudai Arata, a man who turned out to be the one who wanted to kill Yusaku Kudo, the detective's father. With such a connection between the jewels' owner and Yusaku, Kid only thought that perhaps the shrunken detective only wanted to see this case through to the end and the ending happened to be the Bellatrix heist as the phantom thief had promised weeks ago at Aoboshi heist through a message on his card, but now it seemed that perhaps that was not the only reason. _Tantei-kun_ had another intention by attending tonight's heist. "Do tell me then, _Meitantei_. I'm listening," the thief continued, looking at his rival with interest and curiosity.

"Well... the truth is I just want to talk with you," Conan said as he walked toward the thief casually. "After all of these messes, after this case... I think I need to talk with you."

"Oh?" Kid tilted his head a little, confused. _Tantei-kun_ wanted to talk with the phantom thief? Seriously? "Is that so? Why?"

"First of all, I haven't thanked you yet," Conan replied. "I'm aware that you've helped me, you've helped my parents too—your message at Aoboshi heist, Yuriko Adams' fingerprint, and your aid in capturing Takenaka last week—you've helped us so much, so... yeah, thank you. Thanks a lot, Kid."

Kid blinked _. 'What the hell?!'_ Kaito mentally screamed; he was getting suspicious, confused, and surprised at the same time. _'_ Tantei-kun _'s actually thanking me this much? Is this real? What kind of trick is this?!'_ the magician struggled to keep his poker face; he could not allow the great Kaitou Kid freaking out in front of his favorite detective now, could he?

"You're thanking me, _Tantei-kun_? This is truly unusual." the thief managed to keep his poker face and let out his amused grin.

"Yeah yeah, I hope I don't have to do this again," the detective snorted in annoyance.

"Yes, you really don't have to since you also have helped me," Kid agreed. "You know, that time when I tied Takenaka, I wouldn't be able to do it so easily if he was in his prime."

"Huh?"

"You and that lady certainly had made him weak; I noticed he had difficulties in moving his arms, that's why I could tie him easily."

"Oh..." Conan remembered that he had injured Takenaka with his soccer ball. He also remembered that Lily too had injured the man with her arrows. "Well... yes."

Kid smiled. "Not only that, you also have helped me by solving the case, so I think we're even."

Conan shrugged. "Whatever you say, but I'll still thank you."

Kid raised his eyebrows, quite surprised by the detective's stubbornness over a simple thanks. For a brief moment, Kaito was getting suspicious again. It was just a thank you. Why did the detective become so persistent about it when he rarely thanked Kid? But then Kaito decided to just play along to see how this simple thanks would turn out, so he let out his amused smile. "If you insist, then I guess you're welcome, _Tantei-kun_."

"Good," Conan nodded. "Now that I've thanked you properly, it's time for the real talk. I told you before that I wanted to talk with you."

"Yes. What is it that you want to talk?" Kid asked.

"The case, of course. I have many questions to ask," the boy replied. "You know, Takenaka has admitted that he and Arata planned to release Eric Wu after they had killed Victor Wood and my dad. Mizushima—no—Adams- _sensei_ also admitted the same thing. They both admitted that you were involved in this case, that Adams- _sensei_ was ordered to kill you and later Takenaka tried to kill you. Takenaka also said that Arata offered Aoboshi and Bellatrix as your payment if you managed to release Eric Wu."

"What are you trying to ask, _Tantei-kun_?"

"Were they telling the truth?"

Kid smirked. "What does your detective instinct tell you?"

"That their statements are indeed true."

"Why?"

"I'm almost sure Arata wanted to pay you with those gems since you obviously told him that you would steal his gems. Why would you make such a promise? I can only think that you needed to make that promise because you were aware about Eric Wu's crime and his relation to my dad who was getting a shot only recently. And because you were aware of him, you refused the job and made a promise to steal the gems to make sure if they were related to my dad's sniper case," Conan explained.

"You're correct," Kid nodded as he smiled at the detective. "True, they asked me to release Eric Wu—or Black Fox, as Wolf called him. They promised me two gems as my payment, but I didn't know that time what exactly the gems were. As you said, I know Eric Wu. I know his connection to Victor Wood and Yusaku Kudo. That time Victor Wood was murdered recently and your dad got shot and those facts alone made me suspicious of the job. In the end, I refused it and decided to steal Arata's gems. I thought that if I made heists to steal his gems, perhaps I could be sure whether or not Wolf was related to your dad's case."

"You didn't know about the gems?" Conan frowned. "When exactly did you realize them as your payment?"

"After I heard about Arata's death and the fact that he had Aoboshi and Bellatrix."

"I see..." Conan nodded. "Adams- _sensei_ told me that she tried to kill you twice, at Red Empress heist and before that, when you had a meeting with Wolf."

"Yes. I suspected that Wolf would try to kill me since I know that he wanted to release Eric Wu and that he had a sniper with him. That was why I decided to perform heists. If they truly wanted to kill me, I would know for sure when I performed my heist. I also figured that if I did that, I could lure the sniper out to make the police notice him or her."

"Your plan certainly worked," Conan said, "but that was dangerous, Kid. You were actually using yourself as a bait. You were allowing the sniper to kill you."

"Oh, were you worried about me?" Kid grinned teasingly at the detective. "I never thought that you care about my well-being, _Tantei-kun_. How sweet of you!"

Conan blushed slightly hearing the thief's words. True, he was worried about him and it was normal since he respected the thief, but he really did not like it when Kid teasing him like this; he really wished he had not said those words. Stupid phantom thief.

"Yeah, of course I was worried, just like you being worried about me that you had to follow me to Arata's gym," Conan retorted, deciding to throw back the thief's tease.

"Well, what can I say? Of course I'll be worried if a little boy running into a dangerous situation alone in the night." The thief shrugged. "But you don't have to worry about me, _Tantei-kun_. I'm Kaitou Kid. I'm not going to die so easily," he added confidently.

"I can see that," Conan snorted. He knew the phantom thief would not die so easily; he was not the type who was easy to give up on life. "Right, I still have another question. Kid, do you know why Arata wanted to kill my dad and his friend? Both Adams- _sensei_ and Takenaka didn't really know his motive. They both only received order and some of Arata's plans."

Kid smiled. "You're a detective. I believe you already have some ideas about that."

Conan glanced annoyingly at the thief. Why couldn't he just answer him? "About that, Takenaka said to the police that Arata was always wary when it came to my dad and his friend. Adams- _sensei_ also said the same. I think perhaps Arata's reason for wanting to kill my dad and his friend basically is his wariness, maybe because they were able to arrest Eric Wu and almost captured Adams- _sensei_ 4 years ago. Takenaka also admitted to the police that he and Arata had planned to kill Eric Wu once the smuggler was free from prison... I guess he knows something about Wolf and Arata. Arata wanted to get rid of my dad and his friend before he released Eric Wu. After all, if they noticed the death of Eric Wu soon after he had ran away from prison, they would investigate the case and that could lead them to Arata."

"Hm. It seems we have the same thoughts," Kid nodded once again, satisfied with Conan's deduction, "but I guess we can't be so sure about that since Arata has died."

"Yeah... Takenaka and Arata really made mistake by involving you in their crimes, huh," the shrunken detective commented as he remembered what the thief had said on the night when Kenji Takenaka got arrested. "You refused their offers, adding their problem. Not only they couldn't release Wu, they also needed to kill you to protect their crimes."

"True, though I have no doubt they would kill me too even if I accepted the job."

"Right. You're an important witness if Eric Wu truly was murdered after getting away from prison with your help. Moreover, Arata was obsessed with his gems. I doubt he would really give them to you."

Kid only chuckled as a response. For a moment both of them were silent, just stood side by side on the rooftop, admiring the city's view at night.

"Hey, Kid..." Conan broke the silence after a while.

"Hmm?"

"That time when you helped us in Arata's gym... did you already know everything about Takenaka and Adams- _sensei_?"

"Why do you think so?"

"You seemed aware that Adams- _sensei_ was actually on my side, trying to protect me from Takenaka. That time you didn't look confused at all with the situation as if you already knew everything."

Kid smiled. "Yes, I already knew, but I was only sure about everything when I saw Takenaka pointing his gun at Adams- _san_ and you running towards Takenaka, no doubt trying to stop him from killing Adams- _san_."

"How did you know about them?" the boy asked curiously.

"As soon as I realized Lily Mizushima's true identity, I also asked myself about Takenaka. I thought that they could be partners in crime, so I started to doubt that Takenaka was dead; he could still be alive. I decided to investigate Mizushima's alibi at Aoboshi heist to ensure Takenaka's whereabouts by pretending as Mia Vasquez's fan. Vasquez- _san_ told me that her instructor attended Aoboshi heist with her friends who were also worked at Arata's gym; in other words, she wasn't the sniper who shot my dummy that time. From that, I concluded that Mizushima and Takenaka really could be partners in crime and that Takenaka should be alive if Mizushima hadn't killed him yet, but as I said before, I was only sure that they weren't partners anymore when I saw the three of you that night," Kid explained.

"I see..." Conan mumbled, then he asked again, "about _Sensei_ 's fingerprint, how did you manage to get that?"

"Do you really have to ask that?" Kid chuckled once again. "What is a phantom thief if he can't obtain a fingerprint, _Tantei-kun_?"

"Yeah, but you managed to get Yuriko Adams' fingerprint. She's supposed to die 4 years ago. Getting her fingerprint must be difficult."

"Oh, that. Yes, that was truly a hard work," Kid remarked when he remembered how his mother managed to get Yuriko's fingerprint. "But I don't think you need to know the detail, _Tantei-kun_. Besides, a magician never reveals his secrets," he added with a mysterious smile.

"Again with magician's secrets..." Conan muttered, then he waved his hand uncaringly. "Fine. Let's just forget it since you won't tell me anything. Besides, I still have a few questions for you."

"Another question? You really have many questions, don't you?"

"Yeah. Kid, you gave the fingerprint test result to me."

Kid blinked. "Yes, but that's not a question, _Tantei-kun_."

"Why?" the boy continued quickly. "Why did you give it to me? You could give it to the police instead of me. You even arranged it so that I wouldn't be able to tell the police about it."

Hearing that question, Kid could not help but smiled fondly at his rival. "Because it was a gift, _Tantei-kun_. A gift for you and your parents. Didn't you read my message?"

"Yes, but the fingerprint is useful for the case. At least you should allow the police to know."

Kid shook his head. "No, I won't help the police that way. I don't want to make them lost confidence in themselves. Furthermore, I'm a thief, not their secret agent. Can you imagine how bad their pride would be hurt if they realized that their wanted thief helped them like that?"

"Oh." Conan blinked in surprise. He never thought the thief would think so far about the police. "Yes, I think I can imagine that."

"See? That would be so bad for them, definitely," Kid nodded confidently. "Besides, I could only trust such a delicate secret like that to you since I know that you also have a secret to keep."

Conan blinked once again. _'So_ Tou-san _was right. Kid couldn't trust the police with_ Sensei _'s identity.'_ "Were you afraid the police would leak that secret?"

"More like I was afraid Lily Mizushima would eavesdrop the police. After all, she was Arata's sniper, that Arata who was able to hide his crimes so well all these years. I was afraid she would run away again if she ever heard that the police had found out about her secret."

"Oh. That makes sense."

"By the way, _Meitantei_ , can you still solve the case if I didn't give you that fingerprint?" now was the thief's turn to ask.

"Of course, though maybe it would take more time," the detective answered.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I already suspected _Sensei_ when I noticed that she applied SLLS method in her routines. Not to mention she also has a remarkable knowledge about firearms."

"SLLS and firearms? I see. You suspected her as the sniper."

"Yeah," Conan admitted, "but your gift really helped me, though I wonder why you didn't give me a secret message as usual."

"Why, of course because I was helping my family," Kid grinned.

"Your family?"

"Yusaku Kudo is the one who named me, thus in a way he's my dad and you're my brother, _Meitantei_ ," the thief replied cheerfully. "As much as I love codes and riddles, I just couldn't make my family getting more frustrated by solving them. You were all already frustrated enough with the case."

Conan was stunned for a while, remembering his meeting with the phantom thief many years ago when the thief claimed to be his younger brother. After that, the boy smiled softly, shaking his head. "Really, you're so unpredictable."

"I'm a phantom thief, of course I'm always unpredictable!" the thief grinned once again. "Speaking of my family, how is our 'dad', _Tantei-kun_?"

"He's fine, though he still needs more time until he can return to his usual routines."

"Oh, you mean he still needs time to recuperate."

"Yes."

"Well, that means Mommy and Daddy will stay at home for a while! Aren't you happy, _Meitantei_?" Kid teased his rival once more, laughing when he saw Conan blushed.

"Just stop teasing me, will you?" the detective demanded as he looked annoyingly at the thief.

"Aww... you're truly happy!"

"Kid!"

"Fine, fine, I'll stop," the thief stopped his laughter, but he just could not help but grinning. The look on his rival's face was just so priceless! "So, anything else you want to ask me, _Tantei-kun_?" finally he decided to return to the main topic.

"Yeah," Conan nodded, somehow feeling relieved knowing the thief truly stopped teasing him. At least for now. "You entered my house as Inspector Nakamori, didn't you?"

"Ah, yes. How did you know?" Kid asked back.

"My dad had already suspected you and my mom called Inspector Nakamori's office and home to confirm it. Turned out the inspector was busy with Arata's case for a whole day, so of course he couldn't visit our house that time. My mom told me all about it and since I know that you were injured and acting unusual at the Red Empress heist, I could be sure that the inspector that time actually was you."

"Hmm... so Kudo- _san_ had suspected me. As expected of my 'dad'," the thief smirked amusedly. "Sorry about that, _Tantei-kun_ , but I really needed to see your parents. Surely you can understand how important your parents are to me, right?"

"Because my dad is your dad?" Conan looked at the phantom thief boringly. "I'm pretty sure you were also trying to get information from them."

"Bingo!" Kid grinned. "You can't blame me for that. My life was also at stake that time, and I was also trying to protect your dad."

Conan sighed. "Yeah, I know. I'm grateful for that." The detective decided not to tell the thief about how upset he was when he realized that Kid was involved in the case and acted as if he did not want to involve the detective. Conan decided to keep that fact to himself since if he told Kid about that, Kid might notice that the Kudos did not immediately suspect Kid as the inspector. If that happened, the thief surely would ask more, like if they did not suspect Kid from the start, then who was the first suspect. Conan did not know how to answer that since he could not possibly tell the thief about Vermouth.

"Oh? You're surprisingly very understanding tonight, _Tantei-kun_ ," Kid commented, bewildered.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I thought at least you would throw me a protest. After all, I asked you to keep quiet about my little wound at Red Empress heist. I could imagine you were irritated with my secrecy when you finally realized that I was also involved in you dad's case."

 _'_ _Right on the mark.'_ Conan sighed once again. "Yes, I was upset, but let's just say that I can understand your secrecy. Maybe it was just your way to protect us. Besides, you helped us in the end, so I don't really have any reason to protest."

"Hmm... if you say so," Kid decided to drop the topic. "Anything else you want to ask?"

"No, that's all," Conan answered. "Now, Kid, give me that jewel."

"Eh? You're done? How boring," Kid pouted, then he looked at the blue diamond in his hand. The gem was shining beautifully and the thief was kind of having a hard time to take his eyes off of its beauty. "Bellatrix..." he murmured when suddenly he remembered something. The jewel reminded him of someone, and he smiled softly because of that. " _Tantei-kun_ , do you know the meaning of Bellatrix?"

"It means female warrior in Latin. What's wrong with that?" the detective asked back.

"Yes. A lady warrior, just like Yuriko Adams," the thief replied, still staring at the blue diamond. "She's pretty much a warrior inside and outside, don't you think so? For holding on so long in Arata's grasp, for resisting the temptation to kill him, for protecting you from Takenaka... this jewel fits her."

Conan was stunned for a moment, looking at Kid who smiled softly at the gem before finally he himself smiled. "Yeah, I guess..." the detective said, agreed with the thief's words, then he looked up at the night sky. "I'm glad she's free from Arata now, I'm glad she's able to return to herself. Somehow I can understand her pain all this time, for not being able to be just herself for so long."

This time the phantom thief glanced at the boy with an understanding look. He knew what the boy was thinking.

"You will return to yourself, _Meitantei_ ," the thief said, trying to comfort his rival. "And even if you can't, you still have people who know your true self, including me. You don't have to always hide yourself."

Conan turned his eyes toward the thief and smiled. "I guess you're right," he said, then he stretched out his hand once again. "The jewel, Kid."

Kid chuckled before throwing the gem to his rival. Conan caught it swiftly, then he stored it safely inside his jacket's pocket.

"If there's nothing more to talk, I guess this is our parting," the thief said as he looked at the boy in front of him. Conan nodded.

"Yes, I guess so," he replied. "Seems I also have to thank you for your time tonight."

Kid grinned. "Please don't. The pleasure is mine, _Tantei-kun_. I enjoy having a chat with you."

"Hmph, whatever," the detective snorted. "Still, thanks anyway. I really hope I don't have to thank you again."

"I never ask you to thank me," Kid smirked, amused by the words of his rival. "Well, I should get going before the inspector and my task force return. If you'll excuse me, _Tantei-kun_."

"Yeah, just go. I won't try to stop you this time."

"Really?"

"Yes, since I'm indebted to you." Actually Conan really wanted to kick the thief with his soccer ball; he had sworn to himself to do that, but now he just could not do that when he remembered how much the thief had helped him in the recent sniper case.

"Ah, I really should help you many times if I want to escape from you," Kid teased, making Conan threw him an annoyed look.

"Just go away already," the boy grumbled irritably. Kid only laughed as a response. He walked to the edge of the rooftop, ready to jump, but before that, he turned to face Conan, smiling softly at him.

"Please send my regards to your parents, _Meitantei_ ," he said, "and farewell, until our next meeting."

Conan blinked, then he smiled back. "Yeah. Until our next meeting, Kid."

The thief nodded as his final farewell sign, then he let himself fall from the building. Conan ran to the edge to make sure that the thief was indeed escaping safely, and he smiled when he saw a white hang glider flying away from the museum. Kid had escaped safely. The boy sighed in relief before retreating back into the museum. He had to return Bellatrix to its owner who was waiting anxiously there.

Finally, the case truly was over.

~o0o~

* * *

 **Yep, this is the end. It's done! Aaahhh... I'm so glad to be able to finish this fic! I hope you enjoy it till the end!**

 **Any comment? Feel free to give a review. I'll be glad to receive your feedback.**

 **Please forgive me for every mistake I've made in this fic. Please forgive me for making you waited so long for this fic. I know that sometimes I postponed this story for too long. I'm really sorry for that.**

 **Thank you very much for your support, for your favs, follows, and reviews. Thank you so much for staying with me all this time, from March to November. It's a long journey for my 18 chapters fic, so thanks a lot! Goodbye!**


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